The CASPer test is an open-response situational judgment test for admissions: 11 scenarios, video and typed answers, human raters, and quartile scoring.
Dr. Russell T. WarneChief Scientist
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The CASPer test, now branded simply Casper by its publisher Acuity Insights, is an open-response "situational judgment test" used in admissions for medicine, nursing, and other professional programs. It does not test biology or math. Applicants respond to short scenarios about everyday ethical and interpersonal dilemmas, by webcam video and by typing, and certified human raters score the responses. More than a million applicants have taken it, and over 500 programs use it. This article covers the current format, how scoring works, what the research shows, and how it differs from a cognitive test.
The current format: 11 scenarios, video then typed
Per Acuity Insights' official materials for the current cycle, the test has 11 scenarios in two sections:
• Video response: 4 scenarios, each followed by 2 questions presented one at a time, with 1 minute to record each answer by webcam.
• Typed response: 7 scenarios, each with 2 questions shown together and 3.5 minutes to type answers to the set.
There is an optional 10-minute break after the video section and an optional 5-minute break midway through the typed section; the whole sitting runs 65 to 85 minutes. The format has changed several times over the years, older descriptions of a typed-only test are out of date, so always check the official help centre for your cycle.
What Casper claims to measure
Acuity Insights describes Casper as measuring "social intelligence and professionalism": how you reason through dilemmas involving collaboration, communication, empathy, fairness, ethics, self-awareness, resilience, problem solving, and motivation. There are no right answers in the multiple-choice sense; raters evaluate the quality of your reasoning. It belongs to the same family as other situational judgement tests, with the twist that responses are open-ended rather than ranked options.
How scoring works
Every response is scored by trained, accredited human raters rather than AI. The same rater scores both questions within a scenario, no rater sees an applicant twice, and ratings are averaged and then standardized against the applicant pool taking the same test type. Programs receive the standardized scores; applicants receive only a quartile placement, released roughly four to five weeks after the test. There is no pass or fail, and each program decides for itself how much weight Casper carries.
The peer-reviewed evidence base is genuine but modest. A 2017 study by Dore and colleagues followed doctors three to six years after admission and found Casper scores moderately predicted national licensure outcomes on personal and professional characteristics, signal that traditional academic metrics did not provide.
Common misconceptions about Casper
• "You can pass or fail Casper": Scoring is norm-referenced. Your quartile shows standing relative to other applicants, and each program weighs it differently.
• "Casper is typed-only": Since the video section was added, the current test is 4 video scenarios plus 7 typed ones.
• "AI scores your answers": Responses are scored by certified human raters, with a different rater for every scenario.
• "You receive your full score": Applicants see only a quartile, about four to five weeks after testing. Programs receive the standardized scores.
Casper is not a cognitive test
Health-professions admissions increasingly split measurement into two tracks: cognitive ability and academic readiness on one side, tested by exams like the ATI TEAS and HESI A2, and professional judgment on the other, where Casper lives. Decades of research show cognitive ability is the strongest single predictor of training performance, which is why the academic exams are not going anywhere; Casper exists because committees also want signal on how applicants treat people. If you are curious about the cognitive side of your own profile, the Reasoning and Intelligence Online Test from RIOT IQ measures six abilities against real norms, and you can take a free IQ test to see where you stand.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Casper test consist of?
11 scenarios: 4 with webcam video responses and 7 with typed responses, taking 65 to 85 minutes including optional breaks.
Can you fail the Casper test?
No. Scoring is relative to the applicant pool. Applicants receive a quartile showing how their responses compared with others.
Who scores Casper responses?
Certified human raters who complete a training and accreditation program. A different rater scores each scenario.
When do you get Casper results?
Applicants see their quartile about four to five weeks after the test. Programs receive scores automatically for distribution.
How should you prepare for Casper?
Practice reasoning aloud and in writing about everyday ethical dilemmas under time pressure, and use the official practice materials. Memorized frameworks tend to read as canned; raters score your actual reasoning.
2. Acuity Insights Help Centre. What is the Casper test format and length?intercom.help
3. Acuity Insights Help Centre. How is the Casper test scored and evaluated?intercom.help
4. Dore, K. L., Reiter, H. I., Kreuger, S., & Norman, G. R. (2017). CASPer, an online pre-interview screen for personal/professional characteristics: Prediction of national licensure scores. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 22(2), 327-336. doi.org/10.1007/s10459-016-9739-9
5. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262
