Advisor Resources

Welcome to our information hub for advisors. Here, you’ll find essential information about the Casper situational judgment test (SJT) and Duet, which will help you advise your students as they prepare to apply to higher education programs.

What you need to know for 2024/25

We held a live webinar in February 2024 for advisors and programs to review the fundamentals of Casper and what to expect for the 2024/25 cycle. Watch this recording to learn:

  • What Casper is and how this situational judgment test works
  • Why programs require or recommend Casper
  • Tips to set applicants up for a successful testing experience

General questions about Casper and Duet

How much does it cost to take Casper and Duet?

Please visit our Dates and Fees page to see how much a specific Casper test costs. The fee to reserve Casper already covers the Duet assessment if the program(s) require it. 

 

Do applicants have to take both Casper and Duet?

This depends on the program. Applicants should check our Dates and Fees page or the program’s website to see if they only need to take Casper or if they also need to take Duet as part of the application process.

How do students practice for the assessments? What materials are available?

The best way to practice for Casper is to take the full practice test, which is available in their Acuity Insights account. The practice test simulates the exact experience and format of their actual Casper test, and applicants can take it as many times as they like. Applicants who complete the practice test tend to perform better on Casper than those who don’t.  

Although many third-party test preparation tools and courses are available for Casper, we are not affiliated with any of them and do not endorse their use. 

Because Duet assesses personal values and preferences, no preparation is necessary beyond planning to carefully read the instructions provided when the test begins.

We also have the following pages you can share with applicants preparing to take Casper and Duet:

When should applicants complete Casper and Duet?

Applicants can check our Dates and Fees page to see the test dates available for each program, including their distribution deadline, which is the final date they will accept Casper scores (and Duet results, if applicable). If an applicant is applying to multiple programs, they should select a date before the earliest program distribution deadline. 

Applicants can only take Casper during the test time they book. After booking a Casper test, Duet can be taken anytime before their earliest program distribution deadline. However, Duet should be completed within 14 days of taking Casper to ensure the program(s) can consider both assessments together. 

How long is the Casper test?

Casper typically takes 90-110 minutes to complete, including two optional breaks. 

Applicants must complete a System Requirements Check in their Acuity Insights account within six hours of their test start time. They need to use the same setup and environment they plan to use for their test and ensure their webcam, microphone, keyboard, browser, and internet connection function properly.

Can students apply for accommodations?

Accommodation requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis and all forms and supporting documents must be submitted four weeks before a scheduled Casper test. Accommodation requests are confidential and the status of a request is not shared with programs or Casper raters.

Learn more about accommodation requests.  

Will programs see video or text responses from applicants?

No. None of the applicants’ responses are shared with programs. Casper is scored by a varied group of human raters. 

Do you have data I can review about Casper?

Yes. We have a team of psychometricians and research scientists who partner with programs and peer researchers to continually validate and quality-check Casper. Review our research evidence, which includes Casper’s validity and reliability. 

 

Scores and distribution

How are scores sent to programs?

Casper and Duet results are sent directly to the programs on an applicant’s distribution list approximately two to three weeks after their test. Results are distributed electronically via our test score sharing and result interpretation platform; they are not delivered through a portal (e.g., AMCAS, CASPA, TMDSAS, etc.). If an applicant adds one or more programs to their distribution list after the initial two-to-three-week period, these programs will receive results within one business day. 

What if a score has not been received by a program?

Although programs receive scores two to three weeks after a Casper test, they may require more time to update the information they provide to applicants. If an applicant is concerned that a program didn’t receive their score, they should double-check that the information in their Acuity Insights account is correct and matches what was sent in their application. 

Will applicants receive feedback about their Casper responses?

Applicants do not receive feedback at this point about their responses in the Casper test. Approximately one month after taking it, applicants will receive their test quartile, which reflects how they scored relative to the other people who took it.

What are Casper quartile scores?

Quartiles divide a set of scores into four equal parts, meaning that a quarter of all scores are placed in each quartile.

Specifically:

  • 25% of applicants score in the first quartile (0-24 percentile)
  • 25% of applicants score in the second quartile (25-49 percentile)
  • 25% of applicants score in the third quartile (50-74 percentile)
  • 25% of applicants score in the fourth quartile (75-100 percentile)

Quartiles tell an applicant how they scored relative to their peers. For example:

  • Applicants who scored in the fourth quartile scored higher than applicants in the first, second, and third quartiles. So, they scored higher than at least 75% of all applicants. 
  • Applicants in the second quartile scored higher than applicants in the first quartile and lower than those in the third and fourth quartiles. So, they scored higher than at least 25% of all applicants and lower than at least 50% of all applicants.

Quartiles represent the percentage of other applicants they scored higher than, not the percentage of questions they got “correct”. There is no single correct answer for a Casper scenario, unlike with multiple-choice assessments.

What should I recommend to applicants who scored in the lowest quartile?

Unlike MCAT, most schools do not use firm cutoffs or thresholds with Casper scores, nor do Casper quartiles indicate the number of questions an applicant got “correct.” A Casper score is more of an indication of how someone performed relative to other applicants. Casper is used as one of many data points to make admissions decisions. Therefore, in most cases, applicants are still eligible for admission even if they score in the lowest quartile.

 

Why are Casper results only valid for a year when the MCAT is valid for 4 years?

Casper scores are valid for one year because the test content changes every year. Unlike the MCAT, applicants’ responses on Casper are assessed against the pool of applicants taking the same test (this is how scores are produced).

Why do applicants just receive a quartile score for the Casper test while the schools they apply to receive scores?

Acuity Insights shares quartiles to balance applicants’ needs with those of programs. Quartiles will help applicants understand how they performed on Casper, relative to other applicants. However, their quartile should not discourage applicants from applying to a program. Many programs consider all quartiles and use Casper as an additional piece of information among many metrics to make admissions decisions.

Important links for your students