About Us
Certification Management Services
High Quality &
Efficient Solutions
The CMS history is filled with extensive, successful testing experience.
Scott and Kim Thayn, long time testing and assessment professionals well versed and trained in psychometrics, business development, program management, and client management, decided in June 2006 that it was time to offer testing services according to their own vision. Hence, CMS opened its doors.
CMS has been busy ever since that decisive opening day. CMS clients span a wide array of industries, including IT, corporate, healthcare, academic, professional association and government industries.
CMS focuses its services, tools, and solutions to provide its clients with the highest quality products in the most efficient manner for the greatest value. CMS’s founders and its other employees have long standing histories of great service relationships. This has enabled CMS to understand client needs and to remain responsive and nimble to solutions that are meaningful to its client.
CMS Core Team
Psychometrician & Client Services
Kim Thayn, Ph.D.
Kim has been a psychometrician for 29 years, providing test development services in the information technology industry, for various State and Federal government agencies, and for many professional associations. Testing applications have ranged from assessments to certifications to professional licensure. As a psychometrician she has provided services in all aspects of test development including domain analysis, job-task analysis, objectives development, blueprint analysis, item development training/workshops, psychometric editing of items, statistical validation, test analysis and item selection, and standard setting. She has provided custom consultation as needed and performed audits of various testing programs. Kim received her Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology from Brigham Young University in 1994 with an emphasis in research and evaluation.
President and Psychometrician
Scott Thayn, Ph.D.
Scott has worked in the testing industry for 25 years in various roles, including, managing a test development group servicing the Information Technology industry for the Chauncey Group International, serving as a business development manager for both Galton Technologies and Thomson Prometric, and most recently as a psychometrician for Thomson Prometric and Certification Management Services. As a psychometrician, a key responsibility has been to consult with clients to design solutions that both meet the client’s needs and ensure the requirements for validity and reliability are met. Scott has worked with over 100 different programs, ranging from mature programs to start-up certification programs. Scott has a BS in Electronics, an MS and Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology and Technology with an emphasis in testing and measurement at Brigham Young University. Scott’s primary research interest has been the effects of small sample sizes on the estimation of item parameters.
Technology
James LeMmon
James has 25+ years of experience building, managing and maintaining applications and systems to support educational testing markets, starting with WordPerfect and continuing through Novell, Galton Technologies, Prometric, and Certification Management Services. He has built candidate facing systems to management certification programs (used by IT giants like Cisco and CompTIA), and managed large projects like the MCAT paper-pencil to CBT conversion. He has worked with CMS since 2007 as the chief architect and developer for all CMS products including the AUTHORWise platform, which enables clients across a diverse set of markets to build and maintain test questions and easily manage their own test delivery programs via seamless integrations with key partners for test delivery and online proctoring.
Strategic Partnerships and Marketing
Jim Brinton, M.S.
Jim is a 23-year certification testing professional who has assisted testing organizations with building their businesses and achieving goals through the appropriate acquisition and use of testing services, from analysis to development to delivery to management. Jim’s experience includes business development, client services, test development facilitation, psychometrics, marketing, and sales. His lifelong passion is building cooperative organizations, including business units and teams, that are success and achievement focused. Jim has Bachelor of Science (Athletic Training) and Master of Science (Analysis of Human Motion) degrees from Brigham Young University.
Psychometrician
David Lauret, Ph.D.
David is a 39-year veteran of the educational and certification testing profession. He has served as a Psychometrician with Galton Technologies, Prometric, Certiport, Pearson VUE, and now Certification Management Services. Dr. Lauret has participated in the successful development or monitoring of hundreds of tests under varied conditions for many test owners and developers. Dr. Lauret is experienced in the use of both classical and IRT-based analytical and development methodologies. He specializes in the development, analysis and maintenance of online certification, mastery, and performance-based tests.
Psychometrician
Isaac Pfleger, Ph.D.
Isaac has worked for CMS as a psychometrician since the beginning of 2021. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Measurement from Brigham Young University in 2020. During the five years that he was working on his master’s degree and doctorate, he worked part-time as a statistical and research consultant for clients such as the Utah State Board of Education and Lumen Learning. While at the university he also taught courses and workshops in statistical programming. Isaac is experienced with a wide range of statistical methods, including IRT and SEM. His main interest as a psychometrician is to encourage transparency and reproducibility while lowering client costs through automation.
Psychometrician
Kaye R. Bryce, Ph.D.
Kaye brings decades of experience in higher education – with a focus in adult learning and development, instructional design, and curriculum development – to the role of psychometrician for CMS. Before joining CMS, she was involved in the design and development of thousands of items in multiple fields of study. Kaye earned her PhD in Public Administration and Policy from the University of Albany, SUNY and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. She was the founding Program Director for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at Excelsior University. She has also worked as a professional editor. Kaye has a special interest in using gaming technology to teach and assess skills and has created a computer simulation course for this purpose.
Business Development
Jack Schene
Jack, a 20-year certification testing professional, has assisted testing organizations with transitioning to computer-based testing and has acquired extensive experience in assessment services, including all steps in the assessment development lifecycle. He has expertise working with healthcare, not-for-profit, and professional association organizations. Jack’s experience includes new business development, client service management, marketing, and sales. His lifelong passion is supporting and directing organizations to the right services to solve their business problems. Jack has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing and graduate-level coursework in organizational management. He also holds the ICE Credentialing Specialist certification.
Beyond the Core Team
Our team extends to over 20 part-time employees and hundreds of SME’s.