Acuity Insights | Casper shows smaller demographic differences in test results

Casper by Acuity Insights is designed to make assessments more equitable, fair, and safe for all applicants. As a result, Casper consistently shows 25-50% smaller demographic differences compared to academic assessments.

Designed to be more equitable

Test content built with a diverse group of subject matter experts that represent the broad community
Behavioural tendency questions that ask applicants how they would act in a given situation — and why
Open-response format allows applicants to explain their views and provide a rationale for their decisions based on their experiences
Responses are scored by multiple independent raters to mitigate individual implicit biases and ensure that an applicant’s final score reflects perspectives from a range of people who represent the community they will be serving

Casper and admissions

Across quality assurance studies with partner programs, we have found that score differences between African American or Black applicants as compared to White applicants is 48% smaller in Casper than in knowledge-based tests, and 28% smaller in Casper than in GPA. These trends have been observed in the literature as well. For example, a 2019 study with 9,096 applicants from New York Medical College showed that Casper had the smallest demographic differences as compared to GPA and MCAT. For the study’s race variable, Casper showed 48-99% smaller differences. For the self-declared disadvantaged status variable, Casper showed 47-87% smaller differences.

We test ourselves, too.

We’re constantly evaluating our products and processes to ensure they are highly reliable and effective. Study after study shows that Casper provides crucial, defensible data points in your holistic review of applicants.