Decoding Our TA Tech Navigator Score: What Each Rating Means and Where We Stand
Choosing an assessment has become harder as AI spreads across hiring technology. Rocket-Hire’s TA Tech Navigator gives buyers a consistent way to compare candidate evaluation vendors on AI, science and technology. Its September 2026 report covers 542 vendors.
Consistent, independent comparisons like this are useful for buyers in a market that is changing quickly. They show what AI is doing inside each product and how much science stands behind it.
In the September 2026 report, Deeper Signals was rated 3 out of 5 on AI Risk, 3 out of 5 on Science Basis and 3 out of 5 on Technology. Together, those scores place us in the Science + Tech archetype, a group that includes only 13% of the market. Below, we walk through each rating, explaining what it measures, where we sit and what it means for the organizations that use our assessments.
What is the TA Tech Navigator rating scale?
TA Tech Navigator is a vendor intelligence tool built by Rocket-Hire. Its founder, Charles Handler, is an IO psychologist with 25 years of experience advising large employers on assessment and hiring technology. The tool applies his classification and rating frameworks to every vendor in the same way. Its findings are published in the 2026 market report.
Each vendor receives three independent ratings on a scale from 0 to 5:
- AI Risk measures how much AI does the actual work of evaluating candidates.
- Science Basis measures the strength of the science behind a product, including its methods, the people who build it and the supporting evidence
- Technology measures how central technology is to the product.
The three scales are designed to be read together.
How did Deeper Signals score?
| Rating | Deeper Signals score | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| AI Risk | 3.0 / 5 | How much AI evaluates candidates |
| Science Basis | 3 / 5 | Strength of the measurement science behind the product |
| Technology | 3 / 5 | How central technology is to the product |
A score of 3 or above on both Science and Technology places a vendor in the Science + Tech archetype. Only 13% vendors reach it. The report describes this group as "a validated psychometric core, rebuilt for digital delivery with advanced AI features." That description matches how we have built Deeper Signals — blending rigorous science and modern technology to give individuals and organization insights to drive success.
What does an AI Risk rating of 3.0 mean?
The AI Risk scale looks at how much AI does the evaluating. It deliberately ignores how much AI a vendor markets. Below 3.0, AI supports human decisions, and from 3.0 upward, AI plays a part in evaluating candidates.
A rating of 3.0 is the first and most bounded of the evaluative levels. It describes machine learning that works within a validated psychometric framework.
Here is where AI sits across our products:
- Building the assessment. Machine learning helped select the items that make up our assessments during its development.
- Scoring. Each participant is scored with a fixed, transparent, documented scoring key against global norms. AI is not used to actively score our Core Drivers, Values and Reasoning assessments.
- Interpretation. Sola, our AI assistant, explains results and suggests development actions. Sola does not produce scores.
Deeper Signals is committed to practicing algorithmic responsibility, promoting human judgement, and ensuring AI supports, not replaces, effective decisions for all users of our tools.
What does a Science Basis score of 3 mean?
Science Basis measures how well a tool is grounded in science, including accepted methods, qualified people and credible evidence. A score of 3 reflects a described method with evidence behind it.
Rocket-Hire credited our in-house IO psychologists, our foundation in the Five Factor Model and our published technical manuals with reliability and validity evidence. The report's own data shows why in-house science matters. Among vendors with in-house IO psychologists, 78% reach Science 3 or above, against 32% of those relying on an external advisor.
A level 4 or higher reflects decades of independent research and evidence sustained across products over time. Our team of researchers and scientists are actively building this body of research through peer-reviewed journals, conference symposiums, and open-science research practices.
Our answers to the five due-diligence questions
The report recommends that buyers ask every vendor rated 3.0 or above five questions. Here are our answers.
- Can you show validation evidence that the tool predicts performance for our jobs and candidates? Our Core Drivers technical manual reports criterion validity against work engagement, counterproductive work behavior and manager-rated performance. We also run local validation studies with clients, including studies that predict sales and job performance.
- Do you have adverse impact data across diverse candidate groups? All of our assessments have been tested for adverse impact across gender, age and ethnicity. All adverse impact ratios meet the four-fifths (.80) threshold at recommended cutoffs.
- Can you explain how scores are generated? Scores come from a documented scoring key and published norms, so every result traces back to a participant's responses. Sola's explanations draw on those same validated scores.
- Do IO psychologists or psychometricians design and validate the methodology? Yes. Our science team of IO psychologists and psychometricians designed and validated our assessments and continues to maintain them.
- Does the tool support compliance, including audit trails, candidate notices and human oversight? We hold SOC 2 Type 2 certification and comply with GDPR. We believe that scores should inform decisions alongside interviews and other selection methods, with a person making the final call.
What does a Technology score of 3 mean?
The Technology scale measures how central technology is to the product. A 3 describes a traditional, validated core that is actively advancing through technology. Scores of 4 and 5 describe products that are the technology itself, which is where most AI-native platforms sit.
The rating credited our machine learning-informed assessment development, our adaptive Core Reasoning assessment, Sola and our modern platform. TA Tech Navigator summarized our approach as "science-first with tech acceleration.".
Technology at Deeper Signals exists to make validated science faster, more accessible and easier to act on.
Why independent evaluation matters
Independent frameworks like TA Tech Navigator help buyers compare vendors on equal terms. They also help vendors see themselves the way buyers do.
If you are choosing an assessment, the TA Tech Navigator database is a good place to start. Ask the five due-diligence questions of every vendor you consider, including us.
Better questions lead to better hiring decisions, which benefit both candidates and organizations.
FAQ
What is TA Tech Navigator?
TA Tech Navigator is a vendor intelligence tool from Rocket-Hire. It rates candidate evaluation vendors on AI Risk, Science Basis and Technology.
Is a higher AI Risk rating a sign of a worse vendor?
A higher rating is not a verdict on quality. Rocket-Hire describes it as a signal of how much diligence a buyer should apply.
Does Deeper Signals use AI to score candidates?
Machine learning helped build our assessments. Participants are scored with a fixed, documented key and norms. Sola explains results and does not produce scores.
What is the Science + Tech archetype?
It groups vendors that score 3 or above on both Science and Technology. Only 13% of the 542 vendors in the 2026 report reach it.
Where can I see Deeper Signals' evidence?
Our technical manuals cover reliability, validity and adverse impact. Our science team can also walk you through local validation options for your roles.
