Anastasio, a senior advisor at the Graduate Management Admission Council, has been honored for his distinguished 45-year career
RESTON, VA--(Marketwire - Mar 14, 2012) - Ernie Anastasio, a senior advisor at the Graduate Management Admission Council, has been honored for his distinguished 45-year career in standardized testing with the Association of Test Publishers' Career Achievement Award. ATP is the industry's leading organization promoting integrity in testing and its value to society worldwide.
"There isn't anyone in the testing industry that is more worthy of this award," said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council. "Not only has Ernie been on the cutting-edge of computer-based assessment since its embryonic stages, he has been an advisor, mentor and friend to so many people in the testing community. His generosity -- along the visionary quality of his work -- knows no bounds."
Anastasio began his career with the Educational Testing Service in 1966 and has had a close association with the GMAT exam and GMAC ever since. In fact, Anastasio has been at the center of every major advancement of the exam over the last nearly half century, including the transition in 1997 of the GMAT from a paper-based test to a computer-adaptive format offered around the world. The GMAT was the first major, high-stakes test to successfully move to a computer-based format.
After joining GMAC in 2006, Anastasio led the organization's collaboration with Pearson in designing and developing the Pearson Test of English-Academic. The exam was launched worldwide in 2009 and includes a recorded speech sample in its innovative test design.
Early in his career, Anastasio conducted assessment-related research in the areas of multivariate analysis and multi-dimensional scaling. He holds degrees from Trinity College (CT), Texas Christian University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.
Anastasio's honor marks the second time in three years that someone from GMAC has received the award. Lawrence Rudner, a GMAC vice president and its chief psychometrician, received the award from ATP in 2009.