News

Oct 21, 2016

Online Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test Trial (OSSLT) Trial Cancellation

October 20, 2016 test cancellation due to technical issues with the EQAO network.


Dear student or parent,

It is with great disappointment that we acknowledge that the October 20 trial of the online OSSLT was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, we experienced widespread technical issues with the network and, as a result, we had to cancel the trial assessment. We do not yet exactly know the root cause of the issue, but we are undertaking a thorough investigation.

We recognize that students spent considerable time and energy preparing for the trial assessment and that they had hoped to be able to complete their literacy requirement. The outcome was not what we hoped for, and for this, we are truly sorry. Because of the widespread nature of the issue, we do not yet know the implications on scoring and reporting.

As you know, this was a trial. This means students wiII still be considered first-time eligible for the regularly scheduled OSSLT in March 2017 to satisfy their literacy requirement. We can also confirm that the March OSSLT administration will include a pen-and-paper version of the assessment as originaIly planned.

Again we are very sorry and promise to keep working with you to get this right.

Sincerely,
Richard M. Jones, Ph.D. Director, Assessment and Reporting EQAO


Education Quality and Accountability Office

2 Carton Street. Suite 1200
Toronto ON M5B 2M9
Tel: 1-888-327-7377
Fax: 416-325-0831
Web site www.eqao.com