Dr. Thompson is an internationally-recognized expert on AI and machine learning in educational and workforce assessment, and will drive such innovation in ASC’s software platforms.
ST. PAUL, MN, March 31, 2021 /Neptune100/ — Assessment Systems Corporation (ASC; assess.com), one of the world’s leading providers of online assessment software powered by modern psychometrics, has announced that Nathan Thompson, PhD, is officially appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Thompson has performed a number of senior roles since joining ASC in 2008; he was designated as Interim CEO in February 2020, which was recently formalized. ASC’s focus is on providing assessment software with machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities, making exams smarter, shorter, and more secure.
ASC’s President and Chairman of the board is David J. Weiss, PhD, who is also a full professor at the University of Minnesota, where he was a longtime director of the Psychometric Methods program and where his groundbreaking research led him to be regarded as the father of Computerized Adaptive Testing. Dr. Weiss comments: “Dr. Thompson led our company from 2008 to 2015, during which time our revenue grew tenfold and we were consistently profitable. In the past few years, he has stepped back to focus on the research and development for our industry-leading assessment platforms. I’m very pleased to once again see him in the driver’s seat.”
Dr. Thompson’s experience includes the conversion of ASC’s assessment platform, FastTest, from a LAN architecture to a cloud-based architecture, starting in 2009, as well as the recently-released next-generation platform for smarter assessment, Assess.ai. He also rebuilt ASC’s psychometric analytic software platforms, Iteman and Xcalibre, as well as developed new software from scratch, including TestAssembler for automated test assembly and SIFT for psychometric forensics. Dr. Thompson has also provided extensive leadership in growth efforts, marketing, research and conferences, and provided test development services to ASC’s clients.
Dr. Thompson’s experience outside of ASC includes item writing and essay marking for a K-12 assessment company, a psychometrician for a certification services company, a test development manager at a professional certification board, and a faculty position at the University of Cincinnati.
Dr. Weiss notes: “Dr. Thompson is clearly one of the world leaders when it comes to building software for psychometric analytics, item banking, online assessment, and computerized adaptive testing. His unmatched experience, as well as the extensive trust and respect that he has in the industry, will help us continue to advance the field of psychometrics and grow the company’s footprint. ASC was one of the first companies to provide machine learning and AI to the assessment world, and we seek to continue that leadership.”
About ASC
ASC (assess.com) provides its software to organizations across many verticals, based on the common thread of leveraging better psychometric science. EdTech companies, K-12 school districts, national Ministries of Education, national Ministries of Defence, certification/licensure boards, employment testing companies, and language assessment organizations are some of the groups that ASC partners with. ASC’s underlying mission is to improve educational and career opportunities for people worldwide, by ensuring that assessment organizations are providing effective measurements. In the age of data, having accurate information about humans is paramount.
