Understanding and Preparing for the Casper Test: Structure, Competencies, and Grading

Casper stands for computer-based assessment for sampling personal characteristics. At its core, the Casper test is an online situational judgment test (SJT) designed to measure personal and professional skills and situational judgment. It is used as an intermediary or additional step between application and later in-person interviews, allowing the admissions committee to determine a candidate’s suitability for the course of study and profession. As many schools and programs now engage in “holistic review,” evaluations like the Casper test are intended to allow students to provide crucial insights into their own priorities, values, and interpersonal skills, so that these can be considered alongside their academic achievements.

The 10 Core Competencies Evaluated

The Casper test evaluates for 10 specific personal and professional qualities. Specific skills and attributes that Casper assesses for include:

• Collaboration
• Communication
• Empathy
• Equity
• Ethics
• Motivation
• Problem solving
• Professionalism
• Resilience
• Self-awareness

Evaluators look for how well your responses reflect these values. For example, your responses should demonstrate how you value fairness and impartiality in your decision-making. While equality refers to the equal distribution of resources and opportunity, equity focuses on how to reach equal outcomes. Ethics is a catch-all term for how we act on and uphold morality in our personal and professional lives, and your responses should reflect a deep consideration of morality in any given situation.

Casper Test Format and Structure

The CASPer test is made up of 2 sections with a total of 11 scenarios. In taking the test, you will be presented with a series of prompts and you will have to respond to follow-up questions. It will take you about 65-85 minutes to complete the entire test.

Keep in mind that once your allotted time to answer questions runs out, the next scenario will appear automatically.

How the Casper Test is Evaluated

According to the creators, the Casper test “asks what you would do in a tough situation, and more importantly, why.” I interpret this to mean that they are evaluating your recommended approaches to a particular challenging situation, your explanation of why you would recommend these approaches, and your communication skills in discussing both the what and the why.

There is no published test rubric. CASPer raters do not have an answer key, so there is technically no single “right” answer and there are an infinite number of possible responses. However, there are responses that are inappropriate or reflect poor personal or professional qualities. Answers that are poorly composed or demonstrate limited understanding and reasoning will score poorly. Each of your answers is scored individually.

Strategies for Preparation and Practice

Effective CASPer test prep is absolutely crucial for performing well and getting an interview. Research is the cornerstone of preparation to understand the intricacies of the test. To succeed, you should identify and verbalize the main issues, and then think about and describe the impact on everyone involved. You can demonstrate collaboration and empathy by avoiding snap judgements, asking others for more information, and taking the needs and desires of others into account.

In terms of practice questions, Altus has released video-based scenarios and text-based questions, including:

• Toy Refund
• Paternity Leave
• Group Contribution
• Think about a time when you had to make a sacrifice in order to accomplish a goal

Altus Suite has also provided a full-length Casper practice test on their website. This practice test is essentially set up to replicate the official exam, providing countdown timers and access to scenarios. However, you won’t be submitting this practice test and you won’t ever receive a grade or official sample responses.