Literacy tests in

The Rainy River District School Board’s results for the 2008 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test indicate the district’s students continue to perform well in the areas of reading and writing.
Of the 277 Grade 10 students who wrote the test for the first time in March, 83 percent passed both components of the test compared to the provincial success rate of 84 percent.
Although the board result was one percent lower than the provincial success rate, and indicated a five percent decrease from the March, 2007 result, the board is pleased with its ability to decrease the number of students deferred while sustaining an excellent success rate.
This year, only four percent of students were deferred, meaning their opportunity to write the test was postponed to another year—signifying an eight percent decrease in the deferral rate from two years ago.
The OSSLT, introduced in 2002, measures whether students are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects to the end of Grade 9, according to the expectations set out in the Ontario curriculum.
Successful completion of the OSSLT is one of the 32 compulsory requirements to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
Students who are unsuccessful on the test in Grade 10 can take it again the next school year, or fulfill the diploma requirement by enrolling in—and successfully completing—the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course.
In 2008, of the 83 Rainy River District School Board students who had previously attempted the test, 68 percent successfully achieved this diploma requirement through the re-writing of the test or the completion of the literacy course.
The provincial results and further information are available on the EQAO’s website at www.eqao.com