Graduation assessment · Ontario
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
- Grade 10
- ENL1W
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
- 2 h 20 min
- Marked questions
- 37
- Parts
- 2
- Counts for
- Needed to graduate
- Calculator
- Not allowed
- Format
- On a computer
OSSLT 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: fall and spring.
Fall 2026
- November 3 to November 30, 20266:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. ET
Spring 2027
- March 30 to April 19, 20276:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. ET
The dates are Ontario’s own, read on September 28, 2026. See the official schedule (eqao.com)
What’s on it
2 topics. Writing counts most, at 51%.
- Reading49%24 scored questions, 38 raw score points
- Writing51%13 scored questions, 40 raw score points
The skills it tests · 16 skills
- Assessing credibility and drawing conclusions
- Building complex sentences
- Capitalization and punctuation for clear meaning
- Classifying and sequencing content
- Comprehending complex texts
- Connecting and comparing ideas across texts
- Drafting complex texts in various genres
- Editing and proofreading for accuracy and style
- Establishing an identifiable voice
- Generating and developing ideas on complex topics
- Grammar and the functions of parts of speech
- Making local and global inferences
- Reading and spelling complex words with morphology
- Revising drafts for clarity, focus, and coherence
- Summarizing and synthesizing complex texts
- Understanding and using a wide vocabulary flexibly
How it’s built
Multiple-choice questions, questions in sets, written answers and an essay.
- Reading
- Questions
- 24
- Marks
- 38
- Of the marks
- 49%
- Multiple choice
- Questions in sets
- Written answers
Read an information paragraph, a news report, a dialogue and a real-life narrative, and answer their questions, including one written answer about the news report.
- Writing
- Questions
- 13
- Marks
- 40
- Of the marks
- 51%
- Multiple choice
- Essay
Write an opinion essay, marked as a first draft on developing your topic and on conventions. Then answer 12 choice questions on organizing ideas and using language correctly.
How it’s marked
A computer marks the choice questions, and trained teachers mark your written answers. Your score is between 200 and 400, and you need 300 to be successful. Passing is required for your Ontario high school diploma (OSSD); if you aren't successful, you can write it again or take the literacy course (OSSLC).
On the day
- Session AAbout 65 minutes of reading and writing.
- Session BAbout 75 minutes of reading and writing. Your school schedules both sessions inside the window.
Two online sessions of about 65 and 75 minutes, which your school schedules inside the window; each mixes reading and writing. The platform has text-to-speech, zoom, a line reader and tools for marking up the text.
Getting ready
2 official documents to practise with, and 4 tips.
Official practice
Tips from the people who write it
- Practise the four kinds of reading by name: real-life narrative, information paragraph, news report and dialogue.
- Try the official practice test on the real platform: the questions go beyond multiple choice, with drag and drop, drop-down menus and choose-all-that-apply.
- Practise writing a well-organized opinion essay.
- Your result is successful or not, not a percentage.
After the exam
- Results
Your school gives you your Individual Student Report:
- Fall 2026by January 31, 2027
- Spring 2027by May 31, 2027
- Writing it again
If you aren’t successful, you write it again at the next sitting. After two tries with at least one not successful, you can take the literacy course (OSSLC) instead, and your principal can allow it sooner. Some school boards also hold adjudication panels at the end of the year. Once you’ve passed, you don’t write it again.
- If you miss it
The last two days of each window are kept for students who missed their session. Your principal, with you and your parents, can put the test off to the next school year (for illness or an injury, or for English language learners and students with an IEP who aren’t ready). A student whose IEP says they aren’t working toward the diploma can be exempted.
From EQAO, Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (eqao.com) and Ontario Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Program Requirements, §6.1.3 (ontario.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 OSSLT in 2026–27?
The next sitting is November 3 to November 30, 2026. This school year it’s written in Fall 2026 and Spring 2027.
How long is the OSSLT?
It takes 2 hours 20 minutes in all, over 2 parts.
How many questions are on the OSSLT?
It has 37 marked questions: 24 in Reading and 13 in Writing.
Can you use a calculator on the OSSLT?
No. Calculators aren’t allowed.
How much does the OSSLT count?
Passing it is needed to graduate in Ontario.
When do OSSLT results come out?
For 2026–27: the Fall 2026 sitting on or before January 31, 2027 and the Spring 2027 sitting on or before May 31, 2027.
Where can I find practice tests for the OSSLT?
Ontario publishes OSSLT practice test (official platform). MapleMind also builds a full practice exam in its format, free with an account.
Practise for the OSSLT
Every skill on the OSSLT, taught one at a time, then practised on questions written like the real ones.
