OSSLT marking guide:
every rubric and code
Most OSSLT questions are scored by computer. The two written answers are scored by trained educators using three rubrics. This guide explains every code on those rubrics, where the test’s 78 points come from, how the codes turn into a 200 to 400 score, and how to use them in class.
How is the OSSLT marked?
The OSSLT has 37 scored questions worth 78 raw score points. The 35 selected-response questions, in reading and writing, are scored automatically by computer. The two open-response answers, one reading response and the opinion essay, are scored by qualified educators who are trained to apply EQAO’s rubrics the same way every time.
Those educators give each answer a code, not a mark out of ten. The reading response gets one code from 10 to 30. The opinion essay gets two: one for topic development, from 10 to 60, and one for conventions, from 10 to 40. An answer can also be coded Blank or I. Because students have no time for a full revision, all writing is scored as a first draft.
Every OSSLT rubric code, explained
Three generic rubrics cover every written answer on the test. For each code: what the scorer sees, and what it takes to reach the next one.
Topic development rubric
Opinion essay · Codes 10 to 60Your opinion, the details that support it and how you organize them.
| Code | What the answer shows | To reach the next code |
|---|---|---|
| Blank | Nothing is typed in the text box. | Write a response. |
| I | A comment on the task, off-topic content, a restatement of the prompt, a yes or no with no ideas, or illegible text. | Take a side on the prompt and give a reason for it. |
| 10 | Related to the prompt but with no opinion, or an opinion with ideas but no supporting details. No sign of organization. | State one opinion and back it with details that connect to it. |
| 20 | Only part of the essay supports an opinion, or the opinion is unclear or changes. Details are too few or repeated, and organization is limited. | Keep one clear opinion from start to finish, with a different reason in each paragraph. |
| 30 | A clear opinion, but the details are too few or vague, or not clearly tied to it. Lapses in organization distract the reader. | Add enough details and tie each one back to the opinion. |
| 40 | A clear, consistent opinion with enough details, but only some are specific. Organization is mechanical, and any lapses don’t distract. | Make every detail specific: a time, a place, a number or an example a reader can picture. |
| 50 | A clear, consistent opinion with enough specific details. Organization is logical. | Choose the strongest details and order the ideas so each one builds on the last. |
| 60 | Enough specific details that are thoughtfully chosen, organized coherently so the ideas progress. | The top code. |
Conventions rubric
Opinion essay · Codes 10 to 40Spelling, grammar and punctuation, judged as first-draft writing.
| Code | What the answer shows | To reach the next code |
|---|---|---|
| Blank | Nothing is typed in the text box. | Write a response. |
| I | Illegible: random characters, or not written in English. | Write in English, in sentences. |
| 10 | Fewer than 30 words, not counting words copied from the prompt, or errors that interfere with communication. | Write more than 30 words of your own and fix the errors that block meaning. |
| 20 | Errors distract from communication. | Reread for the errors a reader trips over: run-ons, missing punctuation and wrong words. |
| 30 | Errors don’t distract from communication. | Show control: sentence boundaries, punctuation and spelling that stay consistent. |
| 40 | Control of conventions is evident. As a first draft, it doesn’t have to be perfect. | The top code. |
Reading open response rubric
Reading · Codes 10 to 30One written answer about a reading selection.
| Code | What the answer shows | To reach the next code |
|---|---|---|
| Blank | Nothing is typed in the text box. | Write a response. |
| I | A comment on or restatement of the question, a misunderstanding of the reading, off-topic content, or illegible text. | Answer the question that was asked, using the reading. |
| 10 | Minimal understanding of the reading, with minimal or irrelevant ideas and information from it. | Answer with an idea that comes from the reading selection. |
| 20 | Some understanding of the reading, with vague ideas and information from it. | Name accurate, specific details from the reading that support your answer. |
| 30 | Considerable understanding of the reading, with accurate, specific and relevant ideas and information from it. | The top code. |
Plain-language summaries of EQAO’s generic OSSLT rubrics. The full wording is in the OSSLT framework. The colours match the four levels below. The advice on reaching the next code is Litguide’s, based on the rubric wording.
The four levels, code by code
Litguide’s practice feedback, including the free essay grader, reports the four Ontario achievement levels students already know from class. Each level shows the EQAO codes whose descriptions match it most closely.
- Topic development10 or 20
- Conventions10
- Reading response10
- Topic development30
- Conventions20
- Reading response20
- Topic development40
- Conventions30
- Reading response30
- Topic development50 or 60
- Conventions40
- Reading response30
The levels describe Litguide’s practice feedback. They are not an OSSLT result, and EQAO does not report levels for the OSSLT.
Where the 78 points come from
Reading and writing are worth about the same. The opinion essay is the biggest single question on the test.
| Section | Task | Questions | Points | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Information paragraph | 6 selected-response | 10 points | About 13% |
| Reading | News report | 5 selected-response and 1 open response | 10 points | About 13% |
| Reading | Dialogue | 5 selected-response | 8 points | About 10% |
| Reading | Real-life narrative | 7 selected-response | 10 points | About 13% |
| Writing | Opinion essay | 1 open response, 2 codes | 20 points | About 25% |
| Writing | Writing questions on structure, organization and conventions | 12 selected-response | 20 points | About 25% |
| Total | The whole test | 37 questions | 78 points | 100% |
From the blueprint in EQAO’s OSSLT framework. Each test form also includes a few field-test questions that don’t count toward the result.
How do the codes become a score?
They don’t add up to one. EQAO places each student on the 200 to 400 scale using a statistical method called Item Response Theory, which weighs every answer on the test and how difficult each question is. A scale score of 300 or more is a successful result.
That is why there is no published table that turns a 40 and a 30 into a score. What the codes do tell a student is which skill is costing marks. The Individual Student Report gives the scale score and, for students who were not yet successful, feedback on what to improve.
Using the rubrics in class
- Share the codes first
Give students a plain-language version of the three rubrics before any practice, so every piece of feedback points to a code they can read.
- Code a sample together
Have the class code one sample essay before writing their own. EQAO’s practice test includes sample responses, and the annotated essay in our opinion essay guide shows the structure.
- Mark with two codes, not one grade
Give topic development and conventions separately. A 40 and a 20 tells a student exactly which one to work on.
- Teach the line between 40 and 50
In the rubric, what separates 40 from 50 is specific details. Practise turning general reasons into details a reader can picture.
- Ask for evidence in reading answers
A reading response reaches 30 with accurate, specific and relevant ideas from the selection. Have students name the detail they are using, every time.
- Practise as a first draft
The test scores writing as a first draft. Time the planning, the writing and one quick reread, so students learn to fix the errors that distract.
The annotated sample is in how to write the OSSLT opinion essay.
The rubric, applied to your own writing
Litguide applies these rubrics to every practice essay in seconds, so students get both codes and feedback on each paragraph on every draft. Try it on one essay with the free OSSLT essay grader, or see how it works for a whole class in a demo.
Quick answers about OSSLT marking
Who marks the OSSLT?
The selected-response questions are scored by computer. The two open-response answers, the reading response and the opinion essay, are scored by qualified educators trained to apply EQAO’s rubrics consistently.
What does a code of I mean on the OSSLT?
I is the code below 10. It is given when an answer is off topic, only comments on or restates the prompt, misunderstands the reading, or is illegible. On the opinion essay it also covers a yes or no with no ideas.
How many marks is the OSSLT out of?
78 raw score points: 55 from 35 selected-response questions and 23 from the two open-response answers. Results are reported on a scale from 200 to 400, not as raw marks.
Can you work out an OSSLT score from the rubric codes?
No. EQAO uses Item Response Theory, which weighs every answer and the difficulty of each question, to place students on the 200 to 400 scale. There is no table that converts codes into a score.
Is spelling marked on the OSSLT?
Yes. The conventions rubric scores spelling, grammar and punctuation in the opinion essay, and the 12 writing selected-response questions also test conventions. The essay is scored as a first draft, so what matters is whether errors distract from or interfere with communication.
Do students still write a news report on the OSSLT?
Not on the current test. In EQAO’s framework the news report is one of four reading selections, and the only extended writing task is the opinion essay.
Is Litguide affiliated with EQAO?
No. Litguide is an independent practice platform. The rubric summaries on this page are paraphrased from EQAO’s published OSSLT framework, which has the full wording.
- Free OSSLT essay graderWrite an opinion essay and get both rubric codes and paragraph feedback in seconds
- How to write the OSSLT opinion essayA paragraph plan, an annotated sample essay and original practice topics
- What your OSSLT score meansThe 200 to 400 scale, the 300 pass mark, the student report and when results arrive
- Free OSSLT practice testA news report, seven reading questions and an opinion essay prompt, with every answer explained
- OSSLT practice test PDFA free 24-page printable pack with four reading selections, an opinion essay and a full answer key
- OSSLT reading questionsEvery reading question type, how the written answer is marked and practice with answers
- Teaching the OSSLTA four to five month classroom plan, activities for any subject and free resources for teachers
- How to prepare for the OSSLTA four to five month plan, the skills the test measures and how to write the opinion essay
- What is the OSSLT?The OSSLT explained: who writes it, what’s on it and how it’s scored
