Monica Williams

Doctoral Student
Inter-University Doctoral Program
in Educational Studies
Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Monica Williams is a senior educational administrator in public education in Nova Scotia. She has worked in many different teaching and administrative assignments throughout her career. These diverse roles have included Classroom Teacher, Speech-Language Pathologist, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Reading/Resource Teacher, Vice-Principal, Principal and Coordinator of Student Services. At present, Monica is on study leave from her position as the Director of Programs and Student Services with the Strait Regional School Board. She is a doctoral student in the Inter-University Doctoral Program in Educational Studies offered conjointly by Acadia, Mount St. Vincent and St. Francis Xavier Universities. The focus of her graduate studies is Educational Leadership. Monica resides in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with her husband, Mike, and is the proud mother of three grown children- Kathleen, Mark and Anne.

  Assessment is an important part of my work because….

Assessment has been a unifying focus in Monica’s professional practice and continuing education. In her role as Director of Programs and Student Services, she oversees all aspects of the assessment and evaluation of student achievement in the school board, including Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning. Monica’s current research explores the utilization of large-scale assessments to support advances in teaching and learning that promote increased student achievement. Of particular interest are the common barriers that hamper the use of large-scale assessments by educators in various jurisdictions and effective strategies for overcoming these barriers. Part of this exploration entails a search for ways to combine Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning at the classroom and school levels.

  The current assessment focus of my work is:

The overarching theme of Monica’s research is the pivotal role of assessment in promoting increased student achievement and the narrowing the multi-faceted ‘achievement gap’.

  You can find out more about assessment in my jurisdiction here: