During the OSSLT

This section provides instructions on how to administer, invigilate and manage the OSSLT.

Ensure you have the SEB or Kiosk password before starting the OSSLT. This password can be found in the school Technical Readiness Checklist. The school administrator must provide this password to all teachers. You will need to enter this password on each device before completing the steps below.

Summary of Steps During the OSSLT

• Log in to your account and access your grouping.
• Set up devices and logins for students.
• Provide the alternative version of the test to students who have been registered to receive it.
• Unlock the lockdown browser on each device using the SEB or Kiosk password.
• Have students log in to the e-assessment platform using their OEN and the access code for the group.  
• Read the OSSLT script.
• Unlock Session A for students. If any students are absent, ensure their sessions stay locked.
• Ensure students complete all questions in the session before they click Submit.
• Repeat the steps above for Session B.
• Transcribe any student responses into the e-assessment platform for those with this approved accommodation.
• If necessary, click Report an Issue on the invigilation page and record any issues.
• Have students complete the questionnaire after they have completed all sessions of the OSSLT.
• Click Submit student responses to EQAO on the invigilation page to close the OSSLT for all students.

Support for Students During the OSSLT

Refer to the Supports for Students with Special Education Needs and English Language Learners section for information on the types of support permitted.

OSSLT Script

Please read aloud the script for Session A and Session B to your grouping before you unlock the session and begin the OSSLT.

The sessions must be completed in the order in which they are presented, and each session must be completed in one continuous sitting.

Refer to OSSLT at a Glance for information on the duration of the OSSLT.

Note: An assessment session may include supervised breaks (water, stretch and washroom).

Administering the OSSLT

Note: To start an assessment, it needs to have been scheduled in the e-assessment system. Refer to the Scheduling the OSSLT section for more information.

Follow the steps below to start a scheduled OSSLT.

1. Log in to your teacher account.

2. Once you are logged in, you will be taken directly to the Classes/Grouping page where you can view and manage your grouping.

3. To open a grouping, click Select Grouping.

4. On the Assessments page under ACTIVE ASSESSMENT, click the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test that you have previously scheduled.

5. Once the OSSLT has been opened, you will be redirected to the invigilation page. Here you will see the details of the assessment, including the assessment date, the class access code, the two session and questionnaire listed, the names of the students in your class, as well as other important information and buttons for invigilating the assessment.

6. Assist students in logging into the OSSLT. The SEB or Kiosk application will need to be started and the password will need to be entered for each device. School administrators will provide the password to you. After entering the password, a page will open where students can log in to the test using the access code and their OEN. The access code and the student OEN can be found on the invigilation page. Once logged in, students will have to enter their last name to access the landing page of the OSSLT.

If a student with accommodations requires alternative access because specific accessibility software is not compatible with the SEB or the Kiosk application, the student will be able to access the OSSLT directly by logging in through the EQAO login page. Students can log in to the OSSLT using the access code and their OEN. Once logged in, students will have to enter their last name to access the landing page of the OSSLT.

Refer to Accessing the E-Assessment Platform for more information.

7. Once students have completed the OSSLT, both sessions must be closed. On the invigilator page, click the Submit student responses to EQAO button found at the top of the page when you are satisfied that all students have completed both sessions of the test. For further instructions on how to submit student responses click here.

Invigilating the OSSLT

The invigilation page is where you will monitor and manage your students’ progress throughout the OSSLT. The image below shows a sample invigilation page. The descriptions beneath the image correspond to the numbers in the image.

• Access Code for Group (1): Each grouping will have an access code for the practice test that students will need to enter each time they login to complete session A or B.
• List of Students (2): This is a list of all students currently enrolled in your grouping for the session. Beside each student name is the student’s OEN which can be seen by clicking Show OEN. During the OSSLT, you can see which students are currently online or offline.
• Unlocking a Session (3): A session must be unlocked by the teacher for students to start it. To unlock a session for the entire grouping, click the lock icon associated with the session you would like students to complete. Ensure the session is unlocked only for the students who are present in your grouping.
• Locking a Session (for an individual student) (4): If you need to lock a session for an individual student (for example, the student requires a supervised break or the student is absent), click the lock icon beside the student’s name. When the student returns you will click the lock icon again to unlock the session.
• Pausing a Session (for the entire grouping) (5): If you need to pause a session for all students, click Pause Session. The button will change to Resume Session. When you are ready to start the session again, click Resume Session. Refer to the Pausing and Resuming the OSSLT section for more information. You may also use the lock icon to lock a session for an entire grouping.
• Reporting Issues (6): Refer to the Reporting Issues section for further instructions on how to report an issue to EQAO.
• Closing the OSSLT (7): Once your students have completed both sessions, click the Submit Student Responses to EQAO button found at the top of the page. Clicking this button will close and end the entire OSSLT for all students. Refer to the Submitting Student Responses section for more information.
• Show Unsubmit Session Button (8): If you need to unsubmit a submitted session for a student, click the Show Unsubmit Session Button found at the top of the page. Clicking this button will allow teachers to re-open a session for a student that was submitted in error. Refer to the Unsubmitting a Session section for more information.

Locking/Unlocking a Session of the OSSLT

In order for students to begin a session, it will need to be unlocked. Click the lock icon associated with the particular session you would like to unlock for students.

At any time during the OSSLT, if you need to lock the session for students, click the unlocked icon for the particular session.

Pausing and Resuming the OSSLT

Once you have started a session, you will have access to various features for invigilating your students. You can pause or resume the OSSLT for either an individual student or the entire grouping at any point (e.g., for a supervised break, absent student, fire alarm). This will allow the student(s) to return to the OSSLT later.

Pausing for an Individual Student to take a Supervised Break

Whenever a student needs to take a supervised break (e.g., washroom, water, stretch) during the OSSLT, click the unlocked icon associated with the individual student, for the session you want to pause. This will lock the session while the student is away from the OSSLT. 

When the student returns from their break and needs to continue with the OSSLT, you may unlock the session for the student. To do this, click the lock icon associated with the individual student. The student will return to the question that was open when the session was locked.

Note: If the student submitted the session before you locked it, you will not be able to unlock it. Refer to the Unsubmitting a Session section for instructions on how to unsubmit a session if a student accidentally submitted prior to completing it.

Pausing for Absent Student(s)

When one or more student(s) are absent for a session, their session will need to be locked. This prevents them from accessing a session without supervision.

After you unlock a session for a grouping, (refer to the Locking/Unlocking a Session of the OSSLT section) you will need to click the unlocked icon associated to each student that is absent to relock their session so they cannot access it while they are not being supervised. 

When the absent student(s) returns to complete the missed session, you can unlock it for that student. If you unlock the next session for the grouping, any student that has not yet completed the previous session will not unlock.  You will need to individually click the lock icon for the session you would like that student to complete. 

Pausing an Entire Grouping

When issues arise during the OSSLT (e.g., fire alarms) or a supervised break is required, the OSSLT can be paused in two ways.

Option 1: Click the Pause Session button found at the top of the invigilation page. This will pause the OSSLT for the entire grouping.

When the entire grouping is ready to resume the OSSLT, click the Resume Session button to continue.

Option 2: Click the unlock icon associated with the particular session you would like paused for the entire grouping 

When the entire grouping is ready to resume the OSSLT, click the lock icon for the particular session you would like to unlock. You will need to lock the session for those students that are absent. 

Unsubmitting a Session

A session can only be unsubmitted if the student responses have yet to be submitted by the teacher. If you have already clicked Submit Student Responses to EQAO, a new OSSLT will need to be scheduled and started before a student’s session can be unsubmitted. Refer to Scheduling the OSSLT for further instructions.

The Show Unsubmit a Session Button is permitted to unsubmit a session only if

• the student submitted a session before completing all the questions in that session (for the OSSLT, the student must be in the same continuous sitting)

OR

• you need to input a response on behalf of a student, who requires an accommodation.

Note: An unsubmit request that does not meet the above criteria may be reported as “other”. Unsubmit requests that fall under the “other” reason category will be sent to EQAO for review and approval prior to the session being unsubmitted. This unsubmission will not take effect immediately.

Steps to Unsubmitting a Session

1. Before you unsubmit a session, have the student log out of the website or Kiosk or close the browser in which they are logged into. You will be able to verify if a student is logged out by looking at the student’s status which should indicate offline.

2. Click the Show Unsubmit Session Button at the top of the page.

Note: If a student is not logged out of the e-assessment platform, a message will appear at the top of the invigilator page which will not allow you to unsubmit the session. If this happens, please verify that the student has logged out of the system completely.

3. Once you have clicked the blue Show Unsubmit Session Button, the title on button will change to Hide Unsubmit Session Button and an unsubmit icon (a rectangle with an x) will appear next to each student’s submitted session.

Click on the unsubmit icon for the session that you would like to unsubmit.

Note: It is recommended to unsubmit one session for one student at a time.

4. After clicking on the unsubmit icon, a pop-up will appear asking you for a reason (1) for unsubmitting a session. Select a reason from the options provided or chose “Other” and type a reason in the text box. Requests in the “other” category will be sent to EQAO for approval. Once complete, confirm the action to unsubmit a session for a particular student by typing “yes” in the input box (2) and clicking OK to continue the unsubmit process.

5. After unsubmitting a session for the student, the session you unsubmitted will now show a lock icon on the invigilator page. If you hover over the lock icon, it will indicate Not Started. To allow a student to re-access the session, click on the lock icon. If a student completed a session after the one you have unlocked, the checkmark beside the student’s name will no longer appear.

Note: Unsubmitting a session will not clear student responses and student progress will remain saved. Each session that was completed prior to unsubmitting will be automatically submitted when the teacher closes the OSSLT and clicks Submit student responses to EQAO.

6. When the icon has changed to an unlocked icon, students will then be able to restart the unsubmitted session.

Reporting Issues

School administrators and teachers must report issues to EQAO that may affect the security, validity or reliability of the OSSLT. All issues should be reported through the teacher invigilation page.

Issues Requiring Immediate Technical Support

If the issue requires support to allow the student to start or continue the OSSLT, please report it on the teacher invigilation page using the Report an Issue button. Select the Technical Support category or phone 1-888-327-7377 for assistance. Issues reported in the Technical Support category will automatically be forwarded to the technical support team for immediate follow-up.

Issues NOT Requiring Immediate Technical Support

If the issue does not require immediate support (e.g., the student has already completed the OSSLT or can continue despite the issue) but may affect the student’s results or the security of the test, please report it using the Report an Issue button. Issues that are not time-sensitive will be reviewed by EQAO at the end of the assessment window. EQAO will investigate and consider these issues before student results are released.

Issues That Do NOT Require Reporting to EQAO

Issues that have been resolved and do not affect the validity and reliability of a student’s results or the security of the OSSLT, do not need to be reported to EQAO.  

Issues that do not need to be reported to EQAO:

• The Internet stops working during the OSSLT, but the students are supervised during this time. When the Internet issue is resolved, the students are able to go back into the OSSLT and continue with the test.
• A student appears to be offline but is actually completing the OSSLT online.
• The device a student is working on stops working, but the teacher is able to provide the student with another device and the student continues with the OSSLT.
• A student takes out a phone for personal reasons, and the teacher is satisfied the phone has not been used to assist with answers to the test.
• A student is absent and does not complete all or parts of the OSSLT.
• A student response appears not to be saved. (Note: Student responses are automatically saved in the system. At times there will be a delay between the teacher invigilation page and the students’ progress.)

How to Report an Issue

Once you click the Report an Issue button, you will select the category that best applies to the issue. Below are the three categories and their descriptions:

1.Technical Support: Any system issue that affects the ability of the student to continue the assessment. These issues are automatically forwarded to the technical support team for immediate support.

Examples:

• The teacher encounters a technical issue that prevents the students from continuing.
• A student encounters a technical issue and cannot log in to the OSSLT.
• A student is in an assessment session and unable to proceed with the next question.
• A student is not able to access assistive technology and needs support to continue the assessment.
• A student is unable to submit the current session.

2. Student Response Issue: Any issue that impacts a student’s ability to respond to a question but does not prevent the student from proceeding with the assessment.

Example:

• A student reports a glitch in the system associated with a specific question.

3. Administration Anomaly or Academic Dishonesty: Any issue that affects the validity and reliability of the student’s results must be reported to EQAO. These issues may not be investigated by EQAO until the assessment window closes. An administration anomaly or academic dishonesty that has been investigated and deemed to have impacted the validity and/or reliability of a student’s test outcome will cause the results to be withheld.

Examples:

• A student copies answers from others or from outside sources.
• A student accesses the test in an unsupervised setting.
• A student logs in and completes the assessment with the wrong OEN.

Ensure you provide all the details of the issue (e.g., topic; if applicable, the number of the question and session or stage).

Select the student or students affected by the issue.

Follow the steps below to report an issue.

1. To report any issue which may affect the outcome of a student’s OSSLT, click Report an Issue at the top of the invigilation screen.

1. 2. A pop-up will open with an explanation of the types of issues that can be reported. Click OK to report an issue.

• 3. A second pop-up will open allowing you to identify the issue that is affecting a student’s ability to complete a question or questions or that may affect the validity of a student’s results. Select the category that best identifies the issue.

4. After the Issue Category (1) is selected, clearly describe the issue in the Report Issue text box (2). Ensure you provide as much detail as possible when describing the issue. It is important to identify the affected session and section number as well as question number to aid in the investigation of the issue.

• 5. You must select the affected student(s) name from the list (3) that appears below the Report Issue text box. Then click Report (4).

Note: Once you have reported an issue, the details are recorded in the system. It is not necessary to follow-up with EQAO or technical support to ensure your request has been received. If you require immediate technical assistance, report it here or call 1-888-444-4017.

Submitting Student Responses

Once all students have completed all sessions and the student questionnaire and you would like to close the OSSLT session, click Submit student responses to EQAO.

A pop-up will appear which will allow you to verify that your submission is accurate. You will be asked to confirm if you would like to close the entire OSSLT for all students in the grouping.

Clicking on OK will return you back to the Assessments page. There you will notice that the previously administered OSSLT is no longer listed under ACTIVE ASSESSMENT but instead has moved to under COMPLETED ASSESSMENT(S).

Students Completing the OSSLT After a Scheduled Assessment Session

If there are students who were unable to complete the OSSLT during a scheduled assessment session, they can still complete the OSSLT provided it is still within the EQAO administration dates.

Scenario 1: If the teacher has not closed the OSSLT by submitting student responses to EQAO, the OSSLT can still be administered and accessed by the students who have not completed the test.

Follow these steps to have the students complete the OSSLT:

1. To complete the OSSLT, students can log in using their OEN and the existing grouping code. Refer to the Locking/Unlocking a Session of the OSSLT and to the Administering the OSSLT sections for more information.

2. When all students have completed the entire assessment, close the OSSLT by clicking the Submit student responses to EQAO button. Refer to the Submitting Student Responses section for more information on how to close the OSSLT.

Scenario 2: If the teacher has closed the OSSLT by submitting student responses to EQAO, a new test will be need to be scheduled.

Follow these steps to have the student(s) complete a new OSSLT.

1. Schedule a new OSSLT with new start dates. Refer to the Scheduling the OSSLT section for more information on how to schedule the OSSLT.

2. Have students complete only the sessions that were not completed in the previously scheduled OSSLT. Refer to the Administering the OSSLT section for more information.

3. When all students have completed both sessions of the OSSLT, close the OSSLT by clicking the Submit student responses to EQAO button. Refer to the Submitting Student Responses section for more instructions on how to close the OSSLT.