Page 94 - Ontario Schools: Kindergarten to Grade 12

APPENDIX 3
The Secondary School Literacy Graduation Requirement: Accommodations, Special Provisions, Deferrals, and Exemptions
As outlined in Part Two, section 6.1.3, of this document, all students are required to meet the secondary school literacy graduation requirement in order to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). To meet this requirement a student must successfully complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy
Test (OSSLT), the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC), or the adjudication process.
In this appendix, information about accommodations for students with special education needs is provided in Section 1; special provisions for English language learners are discussed in Section 2; rules that apply to deferrals of the OSSLT are outlined in Section 3; and rules that apply to exemptions from the literacy gradua- tion requirement are outlined in Section 4.
SECTION 1
Accommodations for Students with Special Education Needs Pertaining to the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course
School boards must provide accommodations13 that enable students with special education needs to participate in the educational setting. Necessary accommoda- tions must be made to ensure that students who are receiving special education programs and services and who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) have a fair and equal opportunity to successfully complete the OSSLT or the OSSLC.
Accommodations change only the way in which the OSSLT is administered or the OSSLC is taught, or the way in which the student responds to the components of the test or the course. They do not alter the content of the test or the expectations of the course or affect the validity or reliability of the test or the evaluation of student learning in the course.
Accommodations needed for the test or course may be challenging to implement; consequently, careful planning will be required on the part of the principal.
To qualify for accommodations during the test or the course, a student must have an IEP that outlines accommodations to be provided during the test or course
13. As explained in Part One, section 3.3.1, an accommodation is a support given to a student to assist him or her in achieving the learning expectations set out in the Ontario curriculum.
92
OntariO SchOOlS, Kindergarten tO grade 12