TORONTO - It's voluntary test day in Ontario high schools.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office, which oversees standardized testing, is conducting a test of its new online assessment program at up to 900 high schools across the province.

The agency says up to 190,000 students will attempt the Ontario secondary school literacy test online for the first time today.

The voluntary test will serve as a trial of the technical readiness of the EQAO and the schools to support online assessments, and is a "risk-free" way for students to take it ahead of the next scheduled assessment in March 2017.

If students pass the online test, it will count, but if they fail or don't complete it, they will be considered "first-time eligible" for the test next spring.

There will be two sittings for today's test, each comprised of two 75-minute sessions, and the program is open to all 72 school boards, as well as First Nations and private schools.