Casper Exam Guide: Format, Scoring & Registration

Casper is an open-response situational judgment test delivered by Acuity Insights. Rather than testing clinical or scientific facts, it presents realistic hypothetical scenarios and asks what you would do and why. Admissions committees use your score alongside your GPA and test scores to add context about your judgment and interpersonal skills.

To practice answering situational dilemmas on camera and under a timer, Confetto runs timed video and spoken scenario practice with rubric-based feedback. Start your free week.

Each admissions program decides independently how and when to weight Casper scores in its selection process. If you are preparing for multiple assessments or upcoming interviews, see our medical school interview preparation guide for how situational judgment scenarios carry over into interview day.

According to Acuity Insights' About Casper page, the assessment evaluates nine skills that contribute to social intelligence and professionalism:

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

Acuity Insights' current test format has 2 sections and 11 scenarios in total, taking 65 to 85 minutes including two optional breaks. Select programs, such as Australian teacher education programs, use a shorter format with fewer scenarios and no second break.

By our calculation from Acuity Insights' published format, you answer 22 open-ended questions across the 11 scenarios, and your active response time across the whole exam is 32.5 minutes (8 minutes of recorded video responses and 24.5 minutes of typed responses, not counting scenario viewing time or breaks).

Prompts across both sections use either video-based scenarios, where you watch a short video interaction, or word-based scenarios, where you read a short prompt such as thinking of a time you made a sacrifice to accomplish a goal. In the video response section, you record two separate 1-minute videos per scenario. In the typed response section, both questions appear on the same screen and share a single 3.5-minute timer, which averages 1 minute and 45 seconds per question by our calculation.

Acuity Insights delivers Casper across 9 countries listed in its Dates and Fees tool: Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In North America, programs require specific versions of the exam called test types, such as Allopathic Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, American Health Sciences, and Canadian Health Sciences.

Casper test types are not interchangeable. Your score is valid only for a single admissions cycle and a single test type. If you apply to programs in different countries, languages, or program categories, you must take a separate Casper test for each test type. However, you cannot take the same Casper test type more than once in the same admissions cycle.

To see which schools on your list require Casper and which test type they use, check our guide to which medical schools require Casper or search by country, admissions cycle, and program in the Acuity Insights Dates and Fees directory. If a program on your list also requires the Duet assessment, Acuity Insights notes there are no additional charges to take Duet alongside Casper.

Some Canadian medical schools, specifically Queen's University and the University of Ottawa MD programs, also use Acuity Insights to host an asynchronous early-phase Multiple Mini Interview (8 stations plus a rest station in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, priced at $18.00 CAD for uOttawa and $14.00 CAD for Queen's in 2026). That video interview is separate from the Casper exam, though Acuity notes that Queen's applicants must take Casper as well. See our early-phase MMI guide for details on that assessment.

If you are applying to Canadian programs, you must take Casper in the language required by your program (English or French). Bilingual programs accept either language, though not both. When you book your first test of the cycle, you choose a distribution language. That choice cannot be changed for the rest of the admissions cycle and determines which score goes to bilingual programs, so pick the language in which you communicate most comfortably.

Casper is scored by trained, certified human raters, not AI. Raters complete training on scoring criteria, calibration, and implicit bias, and your responses are anonymized so raters never see your name or personal details.

The same rater reviews both questions in a single scenario and scores them independently, while each scenario is scored by a different rater. Because multiple raters evaluate your exam, no single rater determines your overall result, and a weak answer on one scenario cannot affect your score on the next.

Raters evaluate the quality of your ideas, judgment, and reasoning rather than response length, format, or writing mechanics. Spelling mistakes, grammar errors, punctuation issues, and the use of bullet points or jargon are not penalized. Raters know you are working under a strict time limit and look for your overall point even if the timer cuts you off mid-sentence.

Scores across all scenarios are combined into a single overall score and standardized using statistical methods to compare your performance against other applicants who took the same test.

Acuity Insights states in its preparation guide that strong responses explain both what you would do and why you would do it. Because each question in a scenario is scored independently, our team recommends spending no more than 105 seconds on Question 1 in the 3.5-minute typed section so you have at least 105 seconds left for Question 2. Acuity explicitly allows bullet points in typed responses, so listing your key points in bullets first is a reliable way to get your reasoning on the page before the clock runs out.

Use this four-step checklist, written by our team around Acuity's official guidance, to organize any 60-second video answer or 105-second typed answer:

• Acknowledge the conflict and the people involved: Name the core tension in one plain sentence without taking an immediate, harsh side.
• Gather missing facts privately: State what you need to ask or check first in a private, non-judgmental conversation before acting.
• State what you would do with conditional options: Give a concrete next step for the two most likely outcomes of that conversation.
• Explain why you chose that action: Tie your decision back to fairness, wellbeing, team trust, or policy so the rater sees your reasoning.

On its About Casper page, Acuity Insights publishes a sample scenario: 'You are a group member. One of your group members, Paul, has stopped contributing to your group assignment due to a medical condition. Question 1: How should you and your group members handle this situation? Explain your response. Question 2: Imagine that Paul contributed a significant amount to the assignment before he put his courses on hold. How, if at all, would this change your response to the previous question? Explain your reasoning.'

Below is how our team breaks down a typed response to both questions within the single 3.5-minute window. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.

Example answer for Question 1 (target time: 1 minute 45 seconds): 'First, I would check in with Paul privately to see how he is doing and make sure he feels supported rather than pressured by the group. His health comes first, and I want to understand whether he plans to step back from the course completely or if he hopes to complete a smaller part remotely once he recovers. Next, I would meet with the remaining group members to redistribute the immediate tasks fairly so we do not miss our deadline, because acting early prevents resentment or last-minute panic. Finally, with Paul's knowledge, I would speak with the course instructor to explain that a group member is dealing with a medical issue and ask for guidance on adjusting the project scope. Involving the instructor protects Paul's academic standing while ensuring the rest of the team is graded fairly on the work we can realistically complete.'

Example answer for Question 2 (target time: 1 minute 45 seconds): 'If Paul had already contributed a significant amount before putting his courses on hold, my approach to redistributing the remaining tasks and supporting his health would stay the same, because the project still needs to be finished. However, it would directly change how our group handles credit on the final submission. I would make sure Paul's name remains on the assignment and document his specific early contributions clearly when we submit the project and speak with the instructor. Fairness and integrity require recognizing the work he already put in, and keeping a record of his completed sections helps the instructor assign him fair partial credit or an incomplete grade when he returns.'

Acuity Insights recommends preparing with the free, official full-length practice test inside your Acuity Insights account once you reserve your test. According to Acuity's preparation page, test takers who use the official free practice test tend to perform better than those who use third-party prep materials or do not prepare at all. You can take the official practice test as many times as you like, and applicants with approved time accommodations receive a separate link in their approval letter.

You must complete a mandatory System Requirements Check inside your account within 6 hours of your scheduled test start time using the same computer, webcam, microphone, and location you will use for the exam. On test day, log in at least 30 minutes early. You must click to begin your actual Casper test within 15 minutes of your scheduled start time, and running the System Check does not count as starting the test.

Here is our team's countdown checklist leading up to your test date:

• One week before: Confirm your ID verification is approved, check your time zone, and take the official Acuity Insights practice test under real timing.
• A few days before: Record practice video prompts on your computer's Camera (PC) or Photo Booth (Mac) app and practice typed scenarios using bullet points first. Use a free online typing tool if your typing speed felt slow.
• Test day (within 6 hours of start): Ensure both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are updated, clear your desk of unauthorized items, and run the mandatory official System Check.
• Test day (30 minutes before start): Disable your VPN, close Zoom or Teams, turn off browser extensions like Grammarly, put away your phone, and log in to start within the 15-minute launch window.

Once you have taken Acuity's official practice test to learn the interface, practicing additional ethical, teamwork, and communication scenarios helps you get comfortable speaking to a webcam for 60 seconds without freezing. The same skills also prepare you for live Multiple Mini Interviews and one-way video assessments like Kira Talent.

Confetto lets you practice timed video and spoken scenarios and gives instant rubric-based feedback on your reasoning, empathy, and structure. Start your free week.

Video response practice (1 minute): You are the store manager in Acuity Insights' first sample scenario, and you have decided to refuse a refund to an upset customer whose item is outside the return policy. How would you communicate your decision to the customer? Explain your response.

• Acuity Insights: About Casper
• Acuity Insights: A Step-by-Step Guide for Test Takers (2026 PDF)
• Acuity Insights: How to Prepare for Casper
• Acuity Insights: Technical Requirements for the Casper Test
• Acuity Insights: Casper Dates and Fees
• Acuity Insights: Early-Phase MMI Video Interview Updates