The Casper Test in 2026–27: Video and Typed Scenarios, Scoring and Preparation

Casper is the online situational judgment test from Acuity Insights that many medical, nursing, physician assistant, teacher education and other programs ask applicants to take. You watch or read short scenarios and explain what you would do and why: first on camera, then in writing.

This page explains the 2026–2027 format, how human raters score your answers, what the quartile means, what you can and cannot prepare for, and the rules on test day. Every fact comes from Acuity's own pages, checked 29 October 2026.

Casper at a Glance

What is it?	An open-response situational judgment test of social intelligence and professionalism, run by Acuity Insights (formerly Altus Assessments).
How long?	11 scenarios in about 65–85 minutes, including two optional breaks.
How do you answer?	4 scenarios by video (1 minute per answer), then 7 by typing (3.5 minutes for two answers).
Who scores it?	Trained human raters, a different one for each scenario. Acuity says no AI is used for scoring.
What do you get?	A quartile, usually 4–5 weeks after the test. Programs receive your score directly.

What Is the Casper Test?

Casper started in medical school admissions and is now used across health professions, education, business and engineering. Acuity says more than 500 programs use it and more than a million applicants have taken it. It does not test knowledge: there is nothing to memorise, and the questions have no single correct answer.

For the 2026–2027 cycle, Acuity's Dates & Fees page lists 33 US medical schools and 8 Canadian medical schools that require Casper; see our full list with deadlines.

Acuity lists nine skills that the scenarios draw on: collaboration, communication, empathy, ethics, fairness, motivation, problem solving, resilience, self-awareness. They are reported together as one score, not as nine sub-scores.

Programs that use Casper can also ask you to take Duet, a separate value-alignment assessment. In Duet you compare pairs of characteristics and say which matters more to you; Acuity compares the result with a profile the program builds. It has no right answers, so answer honestly.

The Casper Format in 2026–2027

The standard version has two sections, always in this order. Older guides may describe a longer test with more scenarios, so check the date of anything you read.

Part	What happens	Time
1. Video response	4 scenarios, 2 questions each, shown one at a time	1 minute to record each answer
Break	Optional, after the video section	10 minutes
2. Typed response	7 scenarios, 2 questions each, shown together	3.5 minutes to type both answers
Break	Optional, after the 4th typed scenario	5 minutes

Two kinds of scenario. Some are short videos, often with a role for you to imagine yourself in; others are a few lines of text. Both kinds can appear.
Reflection time. Before each scenario you can take up to 30 seconds to think. In the video section there is a 10-second countdown before recording starts.
No switching formats. You answer the video section on camera and the typed section by typing. Speech-to-text tools are not allowed unless an accommodation approves them.
Other versions. The Australian teacher education version has 2 video and 6 typed scenarios and takes 45–65 minutes.

Acuity's sample scenarios mention 3.5 minutes for both questions, including the video samples; its help article on the test format says 1 minute per video answer. We follow the help article, updated in March 2026, and suggest you check your own test details.

What a Casper-Style Scenario Looks Like

Real Casper scenarios are confidential. This one is our own, written to show the shape of the task.

Scenario: You volunteer on the front desk of a community clinic. A man arrives ten minutes after the last appointment slot has closed. He says he took two buses to get there and that his daughter's cough is getting worse. The nurse on duty has told you she cannot see anyone else today.

What would you do in this situation, and why?
Tell us about a time you had to say no to someone who needed your help. What did you learn?

A stronger answer to the first question usually:

acknowledges the father's worry and the nurse's limits instead of taking one side;
gathers information first: how unwell is the child, are there warning signs that need urgent care?
offers concrete next steps within your role: ask the nurse to check for red flags, point to urgent care or an emergency line, book the first slot tomorrow;
explains why, so the rater can follow your reasoning.

A weaker answer jumps to a decision (“I would let him in” or “rules are rules”) without considering everyone involved or explaining the reasoning. This is our general advice for situational judgment answers, not Acuity's rating guide, which is not public.

For more, see our 10 Casper test examples with answer tips.

How Casper Is Scored

Human raters only. Every response is rated by a trained, monitored person. Acuity says Casper does not use AI for scoring.
A different rater per scenario. The same rater sees both of your answers to a scenario but scores each one separately, and no rater sees you twice. Answers are anonymised.
Substance over polish. Raters look at your thought process, judgement and communication, not spelling or grammar. Bullet points are fine in typed answers.
One combined score. Ratings from the video and typed sections are averaged and standardised against other applicants who took the same test.

Your result is a quartile. About 4 to 5 weeks after the test, Acuity emails you a quartile: the fourth quartile is the strongest group. A first-quartile result means other applicants wrote stronger responses on that test, not that you failed.

Programs receive the score directly through Acuity, and each program decides how much weight it carries. There is no published pass mark.

Can You Prepare for Casper?

Acuity says there is no need to memorise content or buy a prep course, that it is not affiliated with any third-party prep, and that applicants who use its free practice test tend to do better than those who use third-party materials. We think that is fair advice about content: no course can tell you the scenarios or the answers.

What you can practise is the format, which is unusual:

speaking to a camera for exactly one minute without notes, then stopping cleanly;
typing two clear answers in 3.5 minutes, which leaves little time to edit;
reading a scenario fast and naming everyone affected before you decide;
always saying why, not just what you would do;
keeping your focus for 65–85 minutes.

Start with Acuity's official practice test, which you can take as often as you like once you have reserved a test. It is not scored and does not match the real difficulty, so use it to learn the screens and the timing. For what other applicants report, and which of their claims hold up, read what Reddit says about the Casper test.

How to Prepare for the Casper Test

Register early. Test dates, fees and deadlines depend on your country, program and cycle: for US medical schools the 2026–27 fee is $85 USD including 9 schools, for Canadian health programs $50 CAD, each plus $20 per extra school. Check Acuity's Dates & Fees page or your account, or our list of medical schools that require Casper. Some US and UK fee-assistance programs can waive or reduce the fee.
Take the official practice test once you have reserved your date, and treat it like the real session.
Rehearse one-minute answers on camera. Record yourself, play it back, and check that you state a decision, the reason and a next step before the minute ends.
Time your typing. If two short answers in 3.5 minutes feels tight, practise typing speed; Acuity suggests free online typing tools.
Use a simple structure. Who is affected? What do I need to find out? What are my options? What would I do, and why? What would I do if that did not work?
Prepare honest examples from school, work, volunteering and family life, because many questions ask about your own experience.

On test day

Check the date, time and time zone of your test, and test your webcam, microphone and computer beforehand.
Find a quiet space and close other apps.
Acuity's conduct guidelines forbid recording or copying test content, using AI tools and reading prepared scripts, and Acuity's terms let it act against test takers who break them. Answer in your own words.

Want to practise the format first?

Candidate Falcon's Casper-style practice has 1-minute video answers, 3.5-minute typed answers and a full 11-scenario mock with the breaks, plus feedback on your reasoning. The scenarios are our own, the feedback is an estimate rather than a Casper score, and Candidate Falcon is not affiliated with Acuity Insights.

Explore Casper practice

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Casper test?

Casper is an online, open-response situational judgment test from Acuity Insights. Programs in medicine, nursing, physician assistant studies, teacher education, business, engineering and other fields use it to look at social intelligence and professionalism. You watch or read short scenarios and explain what you would do and why, on camera and in writing. Acuity says more than 500 programs use it.

How long is the Casper test and how many scenarios does it have?

The standard 2026–2027 version has 11 scenarios and takes about 65 to 85 minutes. First come 4 video-response scenarios, with 2 questions each shown one at a time and 1 minute to record each answer. Then come 7 typed-response scenarios, with 2 questions shown together and 3.5 minutes to type both answers. There is an optional 10-minute break after the video section and a 5-minute break after the fourth typed scenario.

What does Casper measure?

Acuity lists nine skills: collaboration, communication, empathy, ethics, fairness, motivation, problem solving, resilience and self-awareness. They are reported together as one score for social intelligence and professionalism, not as separate sub-scores.

How is the Casper test scored?

By trained human raters; Acuity says Casper does not use AI for scoring. Each scenario goes to a different rater, who reads or watches both of your answers to that scenario and scores each one. Raters focus on your reasoning and communication, not spelling or grammar. The ratings are averaged and standardised against other applicants who took the same test.

What is a good Casper score?

You only see a quartile, usually 4 to 5 weeks after your test. It shows how your responses compared with other applicants on the same test: the fourth quartile is the strongest group. A first-quartile result does not mean you failed, and each program decides how much weight to give Casper, so there is no published pass mark.

Can you prepare for Casper?

You cannot learn the answers, because the scenarios are confidential and the questions are open-ended. You can get used to the format: reading or watching a scenario quickly, speaking to a camera for exactly one minute, typing two clear answers in 3.5 minutes, and explaining what you would do and why. Acuity offers a free, unlimited official practice test once you reserve a test, and says you do not need to buy a prep course.

Is there a free Casper practice test?

Yes. Acuity gives everyone who reserves a Casper test free access to an official practice test in their Acuity account. You can take it as many times as you like; it is not saved or scored, and it is not meant to match the difficulty of the real test. Acuity’s Casper page also shows a few sample scenarios.

What is Duet?

Duet is Acuity’s value-alignment assessment. Programs that use Casper can also ask applicants to take it. You compare pairs of characteristics and say which matters more to you; the result is compared with a profile the program creates. There are no right answers, so the honest answer is the best one.

Does Candidate Falcon offer Casper practice?

Yes. Candidate Falcon’s Casper-style practice has single scenarios, the video and typed sections and a full 11-scenario mock in the 2026–27 timing, with feedback on your reasoning. Every scenario is our own, the feedback is an estimate rather than a Casper score or quartile, and Candidate Falcon is not affiliated with Acuity Insights. It is included in the video interview plans.

Related Resources

Casper test examples: 10 original practice scenarios with what strong answers do.
Medical schools that require Casper: The 2026–27 list for the US and Canada, with deadlines, test types and fees.
Kira Talent interview guide: Another admissions assessment with timed video and written answers.
One-way video interview tips: Camera, light, sound and how to structure a short recorded answer.
All free guides: Guides for other assessments and video interview platforms.

Sources: Acuity Insights' help center (test format and length, scoring, quartile score, test conduct guidelines), its Casper page for applicants, test prep page, Casper product page, article on Casper rating and Duet page, checked 29 October 2026. Casper and Duet are trademarks of Acuity Insights. Candidate Falcon is independent and is not affiliated with Acuity Insights.