OSSLT explains…
Does the OSSLT explain “Why Johnny Can’t Write”?
This post is in response to the 1975 Newsweek article titled “Why Johnny Can’t Write.”
I found this to be a very disheartening and alarmist read about the future of literate societies. Given that the article was written in 1975, I wonder how much further the authors believe American society has slipped towards ‘incompetence’ in the past forty years.
The article bounces around from blaming the advent of the television for the death of writing, to the offensive suggestion that teachers are the main culprit, in that they do not correct grammatical errors or spelling, and rely on multiple-choice or short-answer questions in lieu of essays to reduce their workload.
In an effort to combat the decline of literacy, the article mentions schools and universities that have taken to testing for a base level of literacy or ‘competence’ before advancing or admitting a student. I drew a parallel to this practice with the current standard in Ontario schools that all students must write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). The Educational Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in Ontario sets the OSSLT. The OSSLT is written by most First Time Eligible students in their Grade ten year. The test has both a reading comprehension and a written expression component.
The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test measures whether or not students are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9. Successful completion of the literacy test is one of the requirements to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. (EQAO website)
Students with Individual Education Plans are provided accommodations to limit the effects of their learning disability and allow them to perform at the same level as their peers. These accommodations may include extra time, a quiet space or a scribe. If ‘learning to write is the hardest, most important thing any child does’, then this statement implies that students with physical or learning disabilities may never be literate. I know many of the parents at my school would challenge that assertion. (I fully acknowledge this point may be a little unfair as the article was written forty years ago and that Canadian Human Rights has greatly changed the educational landscape in that time.)
Students who are unsuccessful in writing the test are provided another opportunity in their grade eleven year. Students who the school identifies as not being ready to write the test may also be deferred. These students are referred to as Previously Eligible. Should a student be unsuccessful a second time, they are enrolled in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC), a credit course that covers the basic literacy skills tested by OSSLT. Students who pass the OSSLC, do not have to write the OSSLT again.
What I find interesting having now read the article and reflected on the administration of the OSSLT. I feel that while the intention of the OSSLT is to measure literacy and hold schools accountable for their practices, there are so many ways for students to either defer writing or avoid writing the test altogether, that the results are skewed and present a false standard of literacy.
I feel that writing the OSSLT test does little to prepare students who struggle with their literacy skills. As it is law in Ontario that all students shall attend school up until the age of eighteen, and as all high schools students must take four courses in English,, why are we testing their literacy after only the first course (i.e., grade nine), and then giving them three more years to acquire those skills?
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As an aside:
While I was dismayed by civilized society’s grim future foretold from the author’s elitist view that civilized society would crumble without proper grammar and sentence structure; I have to admit, I was even more dismayed by all of the typos.
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References:
Educational Quality and Accountability Office. (2015). About the Assessment: Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. Retrieved from http://www.eqao.com/en/assessments/OSSLT/educators/Pages/About.aspx
National Writing Project. (2008). The National Conversation on Writing Asks, “Who is a Writer?”. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2546
Sheils, M. (1975). Why Johnny Can’t Write. Newsweek, p58.
Why Johnny Can’t Write – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykOtgK2sKy0