All students will have access to a Practice Test to familiarize themselves with the overall appearance and features of the online OSSLT. Support materials are available for all students once they log in to the online OSSLT. A set of accessibility tools, located in the student toolbar, are available for every student taking the OSSLT and include the following tools:
A help menu
A text-to-speech function that reads the text on the screen out loud
Zoom in and zoom out capabilities
A line reader that helps students focus on one line of text at a time
A high-contrast view
Annotation tools and rough notes
All students will also have access to virtual breathing exercises, reminders of test-taking strategies and a minds-on activity to help them as they launch into the modernized OSSLT. School administrators and teachers can create a plan for any students who require the following:
Additional time
A quiet, individual and/or small group setting
Preferential seating
Prompts (for students who are off task)
Accommodations for each student with special education needs must be consistent with assessment accommodations on the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and can include, but are not limited to, the following:
Extended periodic supervised breaks
Sign language or an oral interpreter
A Unified English Braille version of the assessment with or without the audio version
Additional assistive technology
Verbatim scribing of answers
The e-assessment system has a built-in text-to-speech function. The following is a list of third-party software that is also supported by the e-assessment platform:
Read & Write for Google Chrome
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Kurzweil 3000
NVDA Screen Reader
Provisions for English language learners can include the following:
Extended periodic supervised breaks
The following alternative formats of the assessment have been created for students with special education needs, including students with a visual impairment:
A Unified English Braille version of the assessment (contracted or uncontracted)
MP3s with audio descriptions
An alternative version of the assessment in the e-assessment system with audio descriptions