Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School What to Expect on the Ontario Literacy Test March 31 2011

The Ontario Literacy Test The successful completion of the Literacy test is a requirement for graduation.

What your child needs for the test: Pens and Pencils Hi-lighters A positive attitude Practice with test activities and questions. A good night’s sleep A good breakfast!

What is the purpose of the test? The OSSLT assesses student literacy on concepts covered in Ontario curriculum to the end of Grade 9. The test includes reading selections and writing tasks. Basic grammar and punctuation is also part of the test questions.

What is on the test? Two test booklets and one answer sheet 2.5 hours of testing…75 minutes per booklet Your child will receive an individual report in June indicating whether he or she is successful or unsuccessful.

What is a passing grade? A passing grade is 300 out of 400 possible marks. Many of the students who are unsuccessful receive 290 or 295.

My child has an IEP or IPRC..what accommodations are available? Students with an IEP or IPRC will receive accommodations. This may include double the time, a Kurzwell or audio version of the test, or a scribe.

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test The performance task. The performance task. WRITING READING Informational Selections (brochures, textbook excerpts, advertisements, articles, reports) Selections with Graphical Features (charts, diagrams, maps, graphs) Narrative Selection News report report Short Six Line Response Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion To be successful, a student must pass both parts of the OSSLT. On the February 2002 test, there were 12 reading selections, only one of which was a short story (narrative). The other 11 were informational text and selections with graphical features, similar to the reading expectations found in the geography, math, science and religion textbooks. Let’s take a look at the data from the February, 2002 OSSLT to see how our students managed.

Reading Selections

…Reading Real Life Narrative -Gives an account of a significant time in an individual’s life. Graphic Text -Presents ideas and information with the help of graphic features, life diagrams, charts, timetables, maps or tables.

Selections with Graphical Features This is an example of a Selection with Graphical Features.

Graphic Text

Reading Informational (225-250 words) -Presents ideas and information on a topic. News Report -Presents information in the form of a news story. Dialogue -Presents a conversation between two or more people.

Constructed Response with Explanation The Types of Questions Multiple Choice Constructed Response Constructed Response with Explanation What do the questions look like?

Question Type Description The three question types on the OSSLT. Format 1 Format 2 Multiple Choice The answer to the question requires a complete sentence. The answer completes a statement. Constructed Response The answer is a six line response. Constructed Response with Explanation The answer requires an explanation (six line response).

Reading Questions Multiple Choice -Select the best or most correct answer from a list of four responses. Open Response -Construct a response based on the reading selection. Use the six lines provided.

Writing

Writing News Report Series of paragraphs expressing an opinion Short Writing Task Multiple Choice Grammar

News Report Task: Write a news report based on the headline and picture below. You will have to make up the facts and information, answering some or all of the following questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Purpose and Audience: to report on an event for the readers of a newspaper Length: The lined space provided for your written work indicates the appropriate length of the writing expected. Note the task bar.

Students receive only the picture and the headline Computers are faulted for lower literacy scores!

Guest speaker’s message inspires students

Writing a Series of Paragraphs Task: Write a series of paragraphs (a minimum of three) expressing an opinion on the topic below. Develop your main idea with supporting details (proof, facts, examples, etc.) Purpose and Audience: an adult who is interested in your opinion Topic: Is it a good idea to have a part-time job before graduating from high school? Length: The lined space provided for your written work indicates the approximate length of the writing expected. This is the only one of the writing prompts that asks students to write about their opinion on a topic that may be of interest to high school students.

Series of Paragraphs Write a minimum of three paragraphs expressing opinions. Develop your main idea with supporting details. Give proof, facts or examples. E.g. Is it important for teenagers to pay attention to world news?

Short Writing Task Write in complete sentences an answer which will show your knowledge and writing skills. Base your answer on personal experience. Use the six lines provided. e.g.. What was your favourite childhood game? Explain why you liked it.

Grammar There will be multiple choice questions based on basic grammar skills like punctuation, sentence combining, capitalization, and verb tenses. Choose the most correct answer.

USE YOUR OWN IDEAS TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER. Use your prior knowledge and experience of the selection to develop the main idea of the answer. Give proof to support your ideas.

What if I am unsuccessful? Students who are unsuccessful in grade 10 have the opportunity to write the test again in grade 11. Grade 12 students may take the literacy course in their grade 12 year to fulfill the literacy requirement.

Ambrozic Literacy Team

Literacy Initiatives Grade 9 Literacy Mock Test After-School Literacy Modules Across the Curriculum Literacy Activities Literacy Blitz Literacy Website Literacy At-Home Pilot

How parents can help Successful students read! Computers? How is your child using it for homework? Magazines and newspapers are an excellent source for students. Discuss articles from these print sources. Ask your child to show you what they are reading. Sign your child up for our literacy modules. Sign up for our Literacy At-Home initiative.

Good Luck on the Test! Students can try practice tests on the ILC website posted on the school website under library services, on the Dufferin Peel website or at: www.eqao.com.

When will I get my results? How will I know what my mark is? Results are sent to the school from the ministry in June. Students will get a report card. If successful, the mark will not be given. If unsuccessful, the mark out of 400 will be stated. On the back of the report, suggestions for improvement will be given. A passing mark on the test is 300 out of 400.