Westside Secondary School

Westside Secondary School

OSSLT

OSSLT

Nicholle Jones

October 14, 2026

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) – Fall 2026

What is the OSSLT?

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a provincial test administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). It assesses whether students are meeting the standards for literacy across all subjects, up to the end of Grade 9. Successful completion of the OSSLT is one of the requirements for earning an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).

Who will write the test?

This year, all Grade 10 students, including those not currently enrolled in English, will have the opportunity to write the OSSLT during the first semester. Writing in the Fall gives students a second opportunity to write the test during Grade 10, if needed.

Grade 11 students may also write the OSSLT if they were absent for the test last year, or were not successful and wish to try again.

When and where will the test take place?

Our fall administration of the OSSLT will take place on Thursday, November 19, 2026.

  • Students writing the test will be excused from their regular Period 1 and Period 2 classes.

  • Grade 10 students will write during Periods 1 and 2 with their Period 1 homeroom teacher and class.

  • Grade 11 students will write during Periods 1 and 2 in the Library Learning Commons.

  • The test will take the full morning and consists of two booklets, each designed to be completed in approximately 60 minutes.

  • Additional time will be provided for students who require it.

How can students prepare?

EQAO provides an online practice test to help students become familiar with the OSSLT format and testing platform. Students can access the practice test here.

The practice test allows students to try different question types and become familiar with the built-in tools available during the assessment, including text-to-speech audio, zoom, a line reader, high contrast, and annotation tools such as highlighting and rough notes.

At the end of the practice test, students can review their responses to multiple-choice questions alongside the correct answers. Scoring rubrics and samples of student responses to open-response questions are also available on the EQAO website.

For more information about the OSSLT and EQAO, please visit www.eqao.com.

When will results be available?

Results from the fall OSSLT administration are expected to be available from EQAO by the end of January 2027.