The OSSLT: a guide for parents

Your child will write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, the OSSLT, usually in Grade 10. Passing it, or the literacy course that can replace it, is one of the requirements for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. This guide covers what the test is, when it happens, what the result means, what happens if your child isn’t successful, and how you can help at home.

What is the OSSLT?

The OSSLT is EQAO’s test of the reading and writing skills students are expected to have across all subjects by the end of Grade 9. Students write it online at school, in two sessions of about 65 and 75 minutes.

There are 37 scored questions. In reading, your child reads four short selections, such as a news report and a personal story, and answers 23 selected-response questions and one written answer. In writing, they answer 12 selected-response questions and write an opinion essay. Students with an Individual Education Plan may write with accommodations. The OSSLT guide covers the test in more detail.

When will my child write it?

Students write the OSSLT for the first time in their second year of secondary school, usually Grade 10. For 2026–27 there are two test windows:

• Fall: November 3 to 30, 2026.

• Spring: March 30 to April 19, 2027.

Each school chooses its own day or days within a window, so ask your child’s school which one they will write in. The OSSLT dates page has session times and results dates.

What does the result mean?

The OSSLT reports one score on a scale from 200 to 400. A score of 300 or higher is a successful result. It is not a percentage: EQAO places each student on the scale with a statistical method that takes the difficulty of each question into account.

Your child gets an Individual Student Report from the school, with their score and whether the outcome is successful or not yet successful. Fall 2026 results come out by the end of January 2027, and spring 2027 results by the end of May 2027. More on the report is in what your OSSLT score means.

What happens if my child doesn’t pass?

A “not yet successful” result is not the end of the road. Students who are not yet successful get general feedback on what to work on, and they can write the OSSLT again in a later test window.

After two opportunities to write the test with at least one result of not yet successful, students can take the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, OLC4O, instead. It is a Grade 12 course worth one credit, and passing it meets the literacy requirement. A principal can allow a student to enrol sooner. The guides on what happens after a not yet successful result and the OSSLT and the OSSLC explain both routes.

How to help at home

Reading and writing skills grow slowly, so the best help starts four to five months before test day and is steady rather than last-minute. For the spring window, that means starting in November or December. For the fall window, start in the spring of Grade 9 and pick up again in September.

• Ask the school two questions: which window your child writes in, and whether they have tried EQAO’s free practice test yet.

• Make reading a weekly habit. News articles, information pieces, interviews and stories all match the kinds of text on the test. Ask one question the text doesn’t answer directly, such as “Why do you think she did that?”

• Talk about opinions. When your child gives an opinion, ask for a specific example. Specific details are what move an opinion essay up the rubric.

• Encourage one piece of marked writing a week. Writing that gets feedback, then a rewrite of the weakest paragraph, does more than lots of unmarked practice.

• Try the free practice together. The EQAO practice test shows the real platform, and our online practice test, printable practice test PDF and free essay grader explain every answer.

• In test week, make sure your child gets enough sleep and brings a pencil or pen, an eraser and headphones.

How Litguide can help

Litguide is used by more than ten Ontario school boards and independent schools, and it’s free for students whose school licenses it, so start by asking your child’s school whether it does. Litguide gives students lessons, OSSLT-style practice and every piece of writing marked in seconds against the OSSLT rubrics, so they can practise a little every week in the months before the test. Students can also start on their own.