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The Graduation Literacy Assessments are provincial assessments that assess student proficiency in literacy.  Each GLA is a graduation requirement and students take the assessments in their Grade 10 and 12 years.  The Graduation Literacy Assessments assess student ability to use critical thinking and analysis to make meaning from a diverse array of texts. It also assesses the ability of students to communicate their ideas. The Graduation Literacy Assessments are not based on a particular course, but on learning across multiple subjects, from kindergarten to Grade 12.

The ​Design

The Grade 12 Literacy Assessment requires students to demonstrate their abilities through two key interconnected aspects of literacy: critically thinking, analyzing, and making meaning from texts (comprehension), and communicating an understanding of texts and making personal connections (communication).

The cognitive rigour of each of the questions on the Grade 12 Literacy Assessment is described using Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK). Webb’s DOK categorizes tasks into four levels, based on the complexity of thinking required. The assessment includes questions written to and classified across the first three DOK levels. ) Selected-response questions range from DOK levels 1 to 3; constructed-response questions are at DOK level 3. The table to the left illustrates the types of questions found on the assessment across the three DOK levels. 

The Structure


Part B – Going beyond the texts
Students demonstrate that they can analyze and make meaning from the texts by answering selected-response questions. An Essential Question, related to another key issue, provides a framework within which students apply their literacy skills. This key issue is different from the key issue in Part A.  At the end of the select-response questions in Part B, students choose one of two writing prompts that stem from this Essential Question. Students communicate their personal interpretation and insights in an extended written response.
The Grade 12 Literacy Assessment is delivered online in three parts.

Part A – Thinking critically about the texts 
Students demonstrate that they can analyze and make meaning from the texts by answering selected-response questions. The Context for Critical Thinking provides students a lens through which to view the key issue, which is a broad concept with real-world implications. The Context for Critical Thinking frames the texts and informs each student’s written responses to communicate their understanding in a graphic organizer and multi-paragraph constructed response. 
A PDF of the specification is available here ​
Self Reflection
Questions allow students to reflect on their experience with the assessment. This component is not marked, but highly encouraged.  Students reflect on their work on the assessment, how their learning is applied to this measure, how they might improve their performance, as well as to provide feedback to the assessment developers for consideration in development of future assessments.
Assessment
The provincial graduation assessments use a four-level proficiency scale for reporting student achievement results. Students receive an overall score based on all of their responses with these results placed in one of four levels of the Proficiency Scale.  The results will be reported on students’ transcripts with “emerging”, “developing”, “proficient”, and “extending”.

​.The Ministry of Education generated a  video series that will help students understand the structure of the assessment and the types of responses expected. The videos are intended to be watched before taking the assessment
We have gathered a series templates and learning experiences for some of the comprehension and writing strategies on which the Literacy Assessments focus.  
  Online samples with assessment key and student exemplars are available for you to use to prepare our students to write the GLA 12. We have​ printable versions of the assessment, exemplars, supporting materials and rubrics available HERE.
Jennifer Serravallo's reading and writing strategies books offer individual learning experiences for students to practice reading and writing skills.  Talk to your admin about copies.