February 28th, 2017

On Thursday, March 30, Grade 10 students will write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT).  Students who wrote the online version of the assessment on October 20, 2016 and were successful do not need to write the OSSLT again. Any student in grade 10, 11, or 12 who has not yet successfully completed the OSSLT will write on March 30, 2017. The Literacy Test, administered by Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), is used to determine whether a student has the literacy (reading and writing) skills required to meet the standard for understanding reading selections and communicating in a variety of writing forms expected by The Ontario Curriculum across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9.  The successful completion of this test or the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course is a requirement for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

In order to create a positive environment that will optimize the conditions for successful completion of the OSSLT, we have modified the instructional school day for all students at Preston High School. The following is the timetable for March 30:

8:20 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.     Literacy Test

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.  Lunch

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.    Tutorial Session A for Periods 1 and 2

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.      Tutorial Session B for Periods 3 and 4

It is important to note the following about the day’s structure:

  • Students who are not writing the test will only have access to the cafeteria while the test is in progress, for quiet, independent study. As many school staff will be administering the test, no regular classroom instruction will take place in the morning.
  • The library will be unavailable during the whole day because this space is required to support the administration of the test.
  • School buses will run at their regular times.
  • When the test period is complete, teachers will be available to provide all students with tutorial assistance in all subjects and at all grade levels. Teachers will announce to their students, and post in their classrooms, the location for their tutorial sessions.
  • Regular attendance reporting procedures remain in effect for this day. Any student who does not attend school will be marked absent.

These adjustments have been made across the Waterloo Region District School Board in order to facilitate the administration of the OSSLT in a manner that provides for the best conditions possible for the students who are writing. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the Literacy Test, or the schedule for March 30, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,

Mr. J. Bell

Principal, Preston High School.

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