Provincial assessment · Manitoba
Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test
- Grade 12
- 40S
Dates and details can change. We do our best to keep this page up to date, but check the official sources before relying on it.
- Total time
- 5 h 30 min
- Marked questions
- 7
- Marked parts
- 3
- Counts for
- 20% of the final mark
- Calculator
- Not allowed
- Format
- On paper
Manitoba Grade 12 ELA Exam practice test
The whole exam or the parts you choose, in its own format, on the clock.
The exam in the app
Its parts, and what you can use in each
A question, timed, with the exam’s tools
The marked result, part by part
A practice run of Saskatchewan’s Grade 9 math assessment.
Free with a MapleMind account
When
2 sessions this school year: Semester 1 and Semester 2.
Semester 1
- Tuesday, January 12, 2027150 minutes (+30) · ELA Standards Test, Day 1: group discussion, reading and Responding to Text, writing task preview
- Wednesday, January 13, 202760 minutes · ELA Standards Test, Day 2: planning and drafting the written text
- Thursday, January 14, 202760 minutes · ELA Standards Test, Day 3: drafting, Reflecting on Your Writing Task, revising and editing
- Friday, January 15, 202760 minutes (+30) · ELA Standards Test, Day 4: final copy and proofreading
Later sessions · 1
Semester 2
- Monday, May 31, 2027150 minutes (+30) · ELA Standards Test, Day 1: group discussion, reading and Responding to Text, writing task preview
- Tuesday, June 1, 202760 minutes · ELA Standards Test, Day 2: planning and drafting the written text
- Wednesday, June 2, 202760 minutes · ELA Standards Test, Day 3: drafting, Reflecting on Your Writing Task, revising and editing
- Thursday, June 3, 202760 minutes (+30) · ELA Standards Test, Day 4: final copy and proofreading
The dates are Manitoba’s own, read on September 28, 2026. See the official schedule (edu.gov.mb.ca)
What’s on it
3 topics. Writing Task: an original text on the topic counts most, at 53%.
- Responding to Text: five questions on the Process Booklet's texts40%
- Writing Task: an original text on the topic53%
- Reflecting on Your Writing Task7%
The skills it tests · 31 skills
- Activating prior knowledge to build understanding
- Analyzing and critiquing text cues
- Analyzing and synthesizing information across sources
- Analyzing how texts portray diversity and equity
- Applying capitalization conventions
- Applying fluency to comprehend complex text
- Applying morphology to understand and spell words
- Applying punctuation for clarity and effect
- Applying spelling strategies and word structure
- Building and refining precise vocabulary
- Choosing and blending forms purposefully
- Choosing precise, discipline-specific words
- Consolidating and communicating new knowledge
- Controlling voice for purpose and audience
- Crafting sentences for meaning and style
- Differentiating facts, opinions and bias
- Drafting complex multimodal texts
- Engaging with a variety of multimodal texts
- Examining point of view and viewpoint credibility
- Making and testing predictions with text evidence
- Making connections to deepen understanding
- Organizing ideas with structure and transitions
- Planning with strategies and tools
- Reflecting on and reviewing personal growth
- Responding critically to bias and prejudice
- Revising for clarity, coherence and logic
- Selecting and focusing a topic
- Selecting and integrating comprehension strategies
- Summarizing and synthesizing complex texts
- Using criteria and tools to assess your learning
- Using textual cues and organizational patterns to construct meaning
How it’s built
Written answers and an essay.
- Day 1: Activating Your Thoughts (group discussion)Not marked
- Time
- 20 min
- A task
- Responding to Text (Day 1)
- Questions
- 5
- Marks
- 30
- Of the marks
- 40%
- Written answers
Five questions on the Process Booklet's texts, answered as you read, including one longer written answer on texts you choose.
- Writing Task (Days 1 to 4)
- Time
- 180 min
- Question
- 1
- Marks
- 40
- Of the marks
- 53.33%
- Essay
Write an original text about the topic in the form you choose, such as an article, blog post, essay, speech or short story. Plan, draft and revise, then write a final copy by Day 4.
- Reflecting on Your Writing Task (Day 3 or 4)
- Question
- 1
- Marks
- 5
- Of the marks
- 6.67%
- Written answers
Choose one prompt and explain why your central idea, or your choice of form, works for your purpose and audience.
How it’s marked
Your teachers mark it with the department's rubrics, and the department double-marks a random sample. The test is out of 75 marks and counts for 20% of your final course mark; it has no pass mark of its own.
On the day
- Day 1A 20-minute group discussion of the topic, then reading and the five Responding to Text questions, then a first look at the writing task.
- Day 2Brainstorming and planning your writing, then drafting, in 60 minutes.
- Day 3More drafting, the Reflecting on Your Writing Task question, then revising and editing, in 60 minutes.
- Day 4Your final copy and proofreading, in 60 minutes.
Four school days in a row, on paper, and the test must be finished within the four days. Use a dark blue or black pen. Using AI counts as cheating and gets 0%.
Getting ready
3 official documents to practise with, and 5 tips.
Official practice
Tips from the people who write it
- Marks go to your process as well as your final writing: use the planning organizers and identify your central idea, form, purpose, audience and context.
- You keep the Process Booklet all four days, so highlight and take notes as you read.
- The Writing Task is marked on ideas, organization, language use and conventions, 10 marks each: choose the form that best suits your idea.
- Using artificial intelligence counts as cheating, and plagiarism scores zero.
- In Reflecting on Your Writing Task, refer to your writing choices and your draft.
The mark you need
Your class mark counts for 80% of the final mark, the exam for 20%.
You need
50% on the exam
With 75% in class, your final mark lands between 60% (0 on the exam) and 80% (100% on it).
After the exam
- Results
Your school marks the test and gives you your result right after. Report cards show it apart from your course mark.
- Re-marking
A reread is up to your school division.
- Writing it again
You can rewrite at any later sitting once the course is done, enrolled or not. It’s free, there’s no limit, and your higher result becomes your official mark. Retaking the course doesn’t mean rewriting the test.
- If you miss it
Tests can’t be rescheduled. If you’re absent for illness, a death in the family or another crisis, your school sets your final grade and your report card shows “no mark” for the test. Absent without a reason, or refusing to write, gives 0% for the parts missed.
From Grade 12 Provincial Tests: Policies and Procedures (edu.gov.mb.ca), read on October 27, 2026.
More for you
Students
Start with the topics worth the most marks, then write full practice exams under the real time limit.
Practise itParents
Put the dates on the family calendar. The Parent Dashboard shows each practice exam’s result and the skills that need another look.
See the Parent DashboardEducators
The topic weights and the official practice above make a review plan. Students can practise each skill on its own in MapleMind, free with daily limits.
For schools
Questions about this exam
When is the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test in 2026–27?
The next sitting is January 12, 2027, 150 minutes (+30). This school year it’s written in Semester 1 and Semester 2.
How long is the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test?
It takes 5 hours 30 minutes in all, over 3 parts.
How many questions are on the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test?
It has 7 marked questions: 5 in Responding to Text (Day 1), 1 in Writing Task (Days 1 to 4) and 1 in Reflecting on Your Writing Task (Day 3 or 4).
Can you use a calculator on the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test?
No. Calculators aren’t allowed.
How much does the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test count?
It’s worth 20% of the final mark in English Language Arts, Grade 12.
Where can I find practice tests for the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test?
Manitoba publishes Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test: Information Bulletin 2025/2026 (samples, exemplars, rubrics). MapleMind also builds a full practice exam in its format, free with an account.
Practise for the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test
Every skill on the Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Test, taught one at a time, then practised on questions written like the real ones.
