The 2011-2012 school year will see the sixth administration of the Junior High Literacy Assessment, the purpose of which is to monitor the progress of individual students in meeting a representative number of reading and viewing and writing outcomes of the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum. The assessment was developed by junior high teachers, representing all school boards in Nova Scotia, under the direction of the Evaluation Services division of the Department of Education.

The assessment will be administered during the first hour-and-a-half on the mornings of February 27, 28, 29, and March 1, 2012; all grade 9 students in public schools in Nova Scotia will participate in the assessment, with the exception of students with an Individual Program Plan (IPP) in English language arts. Students will read a variety of materials, and will answer questions based on those readings. Materials will include information texts, short stories, poetry or song lyrics, and visual media texts. Students will write an essay and a story.

The assessment will be scored April 11-14, 2012 by junior high teachers, again representing all school boards in Nova Scotia, and individual student reports will be sent to schools, and then distributed to parents /guardians, in June 2012. The results of the assessment will not be used to determine whether a student is promoted or retained, and will not be used to determine whether a student graduates from high school.