This section highlights what is new for OSSLT in 2022-2023.
Participation in the OSSLT
The literacy graduation requirement has been restored beginning with students graduating in the 2022–2023 school year. Students graduating in 2022–2023 are required to meet the literacy graduation requirement. All students in Grades 10 and 11 and non-graduating students, including those who are learning remotely, must also work toward the literacy graduation requirement by participating in the OSSLT or completing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC).
To provide maximum flexibility for students to acquire the literacy graduation requirement, particularly for students enrolled in remote learning, students can be enrolled in the OSSLC without having attempted the OSSLT in 2022-2023.
Professional Responsibilities Pop-Up Form
EQAO relies on school administrators and teachers to ensure all EQAO assessments are administered in accordance with EQAO policies and administration guidelines. The responsibilities of school administrators and teachers are outlined in the Professional Responsibilities which are available in this user guide. New in the system will be a pop-up for school administrators and teachers to read and accept the Professional Responsibilities prior to accessing the e-assessment system.
Alternative Version Request
A new process to request the alternative version of the assessment within the e-assessment system has been created.
Message Centre
A new Message Centre is now part of the e-assessment system. Messages can only be received and cannot be replied to or forwarded.
Technical Readiness Updates
The Network Readiness Checklist has now been reset for the 2022–2023 school year. Board IT contacts must complete the Network Readiness Checklist before the EQAO assessments can be administered. The checklist is available through the board IT e-assessment account.
The Technical Readiness Checklist has also been reset and will need to be completed by school administrators before schools can administer EQAO assessments for the 2022–2023 school year.
Please review the guidelines for Device Configuration at IT Professionals Device Configuration.
School administrators may also wish to review updates regarding Accessing the E-Assessment Platform for OSSLT.
Updates to Safe Exam Browser (SEB)
The SEB was updated to its latest version. The previous SEB version must be uninstalled from all devices and will need to be reinstalled before being used for the e-assessments. Details regarding the SEB can be found in the section called Device Configuration.
Device Diagnostic Check
A pre-administration hardware check will be available from the student login page of the e-assessment system to help identify devices which may not run well with the SEB or Kiosk lockdown browsers, or the alternative access to the e-assessment platform.
System Status Page
A system status page that will provide a real-time update on e-assessment system health is available for schools and boards to monitor at the following link system status. This will help determine whether any technical issues being experienced are arising from the e-assessment system or locally.
Managing Access to the School Account
A new feature is available for the school administrator to give access to the school account to another member of the school administration team. School administrators who no longer require access to a school account in the e-Assessment system can follow the instructions to remove it from their dashboard. Read more about this in the Managing Access to the School Account section of this user guide.
Viewing and Managing Groupings
Information regarding managing students not taking the OSSLT during the fall administration window has been updated. Read more about this in the Viewing and Managing Groupings section of this user guide.
JAWS software
EQAO is continually working to ensure the e-assessment system meets the needs of all students. In addition to other third-party accessibility software, students can now use JAWS to interact with the e-assessment system. Example videos demonstrating how JAWS works with the OSSLT can be found in the Using JAWS section.
American Sign Language Video format
The alternative version of the OSSLT is available in the American Sign Language (ASL) Video format. Videos demonstrating how the ASL video format works with the assessment and the process to order is outlined in the Using the ASL Video Format section.
Unsubmitting a Session of the OSSLT
The OSSLT is comprised of two sessions (Session A and Session B). Students must complete each session in one sitting. A session can be unsubmitted by the teacher/invigilator if the session was submitted in error and if the student responses have not yet been submitted to EQAO by the teacher. If a school requires access to a session that was inadvertently submitted, the process is explained in the Unsubmitting a Session section.
Reporting Issues
During the OSSLT, school administrators and teachers must report issues to EQAO that may affect the security, validity or reliability of the OSSLT. Some updates have been made regarding the process to report issues. Review updated information in the Reporting Issues section of this user guide.
EQAO Contact Number
EQAO’s contact number has changed to 1-888-327-7377.
Please use this one number if you have questions or require technical support, and you will be directed to the appropriate agent.
Updates to the OSSLT User Guide
The user guide is published online after an annual review. Any updates that are made during the school year will be communicated in the Updates to the OSSLT User Guide section. Please check this section for recent updates.