Test Preparation Services (TPS)

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TPS - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

​Newcomers to Ontario are often confused about 1) the importance of the OSSLT Exams for high school students and 2) how it can be approached. The purpose of this page is you help you get to know as much as you can about the OTTC exam and help you to find a tutor.

The best place to go for information is the EQAO website PDF EQAO is the agency that administers the test. There you can find how it is structured and what types of questions there are but I will try to briefly outline the more important points for you.  
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A few important points are:

1. It is a provincial English proficiency test. The OSSLT evaluates the literacy skills students are expected to have learned across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9, according to The Ontario Curriculum.
2. To get your Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) you must take it. It is mandatory for graduation
3.  Since a student has a long time to pass it, for most students it is not a huge problem. You are given a chance to take it again if you don't make it the first time. However, if you or your child has come in from another country and is starting school in grade 11 or 12, it can be a concern. 
4. If you are a mature student (ie over 18 years old), you may enrol directly in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) first and then take the OSSLT. However, on top of the course, a mature student may find it helpful for one on one guidance 

What is in the OSSLT?

There are five main parts of the OSSLT

1. Reading Multiple Choice questions
2. Writing Multiple Choice Questions
3. Writing Short Answer Open Responses
4. Writing Short task
5. Writing Long  task

What skills are tested

Reading Multiple Choice Questions

1. Main Idea (Eg What would be the most appropriate title for this selection?)
2. Inference (Eg Which of the following is likely to occur if the average temperature continues to rise in the Arctic?)
3. Organization of passage questions (Eg Which paragraph presents information in chronological order?) 
4. Detail Questions (Eg According to Quesnelle, what ability is most important for an animator?)
5. Punctuation Purpose (What is the purpose of the dashes in paragraph 1?)
6. Vocabulary in context (Eg Which word is closest in meaning to “confidential” as used in paragraph 2? )

Writing Multiple Choice

1. Determing correct or incorrect (Eg Choose the sentence that is written correctly)
2. Choosing best concluding sentence (Eg Which option is the best concluding sentence for this paragraph?)
3. Combining sentences (Eg Choose the option that best combines the following sentences.)
4. Omitting sentences (Eg Choose the sentence that does not belong in this paragraph.)
5. Inserting sentences (Eg Choose the best place to insert the following sentence.)

Writing short answer open responses
Eg

1. Why is Lizarda a good choice for this internship? Use specific details from the selection to explain your answer.
2. Is the interview with Alex beneficial to Nat’s career exploration? Use specific details from the selection to support your answer.
3. How does this selection show the benefits of volunteering for community service? Use specific details from the selection to support your answer.

Writing Short Task Response
Eg

1. Identify an important environmental issue. Use specific details to explain why it is important
2. Identify one action you take in your daily life to be healthy. Use specific details to explain how this action contributes to your health.

​Writing Long Response
Eg

1. Write a news report based on the headline and picture above.
2. Topic: Is it a good idea for high school students to have a part-time job?

What Score is Required?

For a full explanation of the scoring system you can consult with the official EQAO on scoring. It is complicated as to how a raw score gets converted to a scaled score but to try and give a simpler explanation, 70% is a pass.

So if doing a raw score practice test:
57/81 is a pass
However since only a tutor can decide the writing tasks, it will requite a tutor. However one can score the multiple choice questions and see if they are keeping up to the 70% level.

Tutoring

If you need a tutor to help you get through this test check out our tutor page for OSSLT of give us a call at 613 447 1622.