Dr. Elizabeth Costa holds Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degrees from Mount Allison University, a Master’s in Education from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of New Brunswick. Elizabeth’s extensive experience in education began with her first teaching position in a one-room country school in Prince Edward Island (PEI) in the 1980s. She later transitioned to larger elementary schools and eventually taught English and Math at an intermediate school. For five years, she was a sessional professor at UPEI, teaching courses on Multi-Age Education and Educational Leadership. Her career in assessment started within PEI’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, where she began as the Math Assessment Specialist and later served as the Director of Instructional Development and Achievement. Elizabeth’s expertise in curriculum and assessment was instrumental in her appointment to the role of Manager, Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) in 2019.

Dr. Costa retired in 2021 and is currently self-employed, involved in various educational projects. Elizabeth strongly advocates the importance of teacher professional development that responds to valid student data collected from multiple sources, including classroom assessment and large-scale assessments. She describes her experience leading a turnaround in student performance in PEI’s education system, where the province improved from being among the lowest-performing in Canada on national and international student assessments to one of the top performers by 2015. She attributes this success to targeted professional development for teachers, particularly focusing on Grade 9 mathematics and Grade 3 literacy, and emphasizes the importance of collaborative work with educators, principals, school boards, and department officials. Elizabeth expresses pride in contributing to the creation of an environment where teachers felt comfortable learning from each other alongside her department’s assessment team and school board staff. She considers these experiences to be the most rewarding aspect of her career. This high-quality professional development directly influenced student learning, opening doors for future educational opportunities for students.

Dr. Costa speaks to the value and challenges of online student assessments versus paper-and-pencil tests. In sharing her experiences with digital assessments during her time as Manager of PCAP, she notes that online assessments offer efficiencies and alignment with students’ digital lives. Still, she emphasizes the importance of teacher buy-in and professional development to implement these assessments effectively. Elizabeth also stresses the importance of long-term political commitment to educational initiatives, such as large-scale jurisdictional assessments and modernizing assessments, to avoid frequent priority changes that may not be well-researched.

Over the years, Elizabeth has contributed to a variety of educational initiatives, and she expresses her interest in working on provincial- and national-level curriculum and assessment-related projects. In particular, she wishes to collaborate with jurisdictions and organizations to leverage assessment information to support teachers’ understanding of data to improve student learning and promote equity among learners. She emphasizes a desire to build capacity and strengthen teams to make long-lasting contributions.

Outside of work, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family (especially her grandchildren), reading, cooking, gardening, and traveling with her husband.