What CASPer Raters Actually Score in Your Answers

CASPer raters score the quality of the judgment you communicate: whether you answer the question, understand the situation, consider relevant perspectives, justify a practical action, and explain your thinking clearly. They are not checking medical facts or counting empathy buzzwords, and Acuity does not publish one universal point-by-point rubric for every scenario.

Is CASPer a knowledge test or a judgment test?

CASPer is an open-response situational judgment test, not a test of medical, dental, nursing, or legal knowledge. Acuity describes it as a way to assess how you think and respond in challenging real-life situations and to measure personal and professional qualities beyond grades.

That distinction changes how you prepare. A response does not become stronger because it cites clinical terminology. It becomes stronger when it identifies the real tension, avoids inventing facts, and proposes a defensible next step. Acuity's official samples are deliberately based on everyday dilemmas rather than profession- specific knowledge.

What are the official CASPer scoring criteria?

Acuity does not give applicants a fixed public rubric that assigns the same points to the same phrases in every scenario. Its March 2026 guidance says raters receive the background and instructions relevant to their assigned scenario and focus on the substance and quality of the response—especially thought process, judgment, and communication.

A 2024 peer-reviewed study involving regular Casper assessors adds useful detail without replacing the official guidance. The study examined whether responses engaged with the scenario, addressed targeted competencies, gave a clear justification, considered perspectives, and offered insightful reasoning. The scoring guidelines in that research included scenario-specific guiding questions rather than one generic script.

What competencies does CASPer assess?

CASPer is designed around personal and professional attributes. Commonly cited competency lists include collaboration, communication, empathy, equity, ethics, motivation, problem solving, professionalism, resilience, and self-awareness. Those labels help organize practice, but they are not ten boxes you must tick in every answer.

Treat a competency as a behaviour you demonstrate. Empathy is not the sentence “I would be empathetic.” It is noticing that a person may have an unseen constraint and creating a private, respectful way to learn more. Professionalism is not declaring that policy matters; it is following a fair process, protecting confidentiality, and taking responsibility for a workable next step.

Does CASPer score all 10 competencies in every response?

No public source says every response receives ten separate scores. The peer-reviewed rater study describes competencies targeted by the scenario, while Acuity says each individual question receives a rating and applicants receive one combined score without a topic or area breakdown. Forcing every competency into every answer can make you less responsive to the actual question.

A conflict prompt may naturally surface communication, fairness, collaboration, and accountability. A personal reflection may reveal self-awareness and resilience. Start with the question and situation; let the relevant attributes emerge through your decision.

How are CASPer answers scored?

Trained, accredited human raters score CASPer responses. Acuity says both questions from one scenario go to the same rater so that person can see the full context, but each question is scored independently. A rater is assigned to one scenario and does not score the same applicant again elsewhere in the test.

1. Your response is anonymized. Raters do not see your name, age, or photo alongside the response.
2. Each question receives an independent rating. One strong answer does not automatically carry the other question.
3. Different scenarios use different raters. This limits one person's impression from following you through the test.
4. Ratings are averaged and standardized. Your result represents relative standing in the relevant pool.
5. Both modes form one score. Typed and video responses are not reported as separate applicant results.

For the mechanics of percentiles and quartiles, use our CASPer scoring guideand quartile-to-percentile explanation.

Does CASPer reward empathy?

Yes, when empathy changes how you understand or handle the situation. Acuity's current quartile guidance says higher- performing applicants may meaningfully consider perspectives, communicate above average, show impartial respect for others' experiences and needs, and explain their position fully.

Empathy without action is incomplete. “I understand both sides” does not tell the rater what you would do. Connect the perspective to a decision: speak privately, ask an open question, create a safe short-term solution, or set a proportionate boundary.

Does CASPer reward the “non-judgmental” phrase?

No official guidance awards points for a magic phrase. In fact, the peer-reviewed study explicitly examined stock phrases associated with third-party training as a construct-irrelevant feature. The useful skill is withholding an unsupported conclusion, not typing “non-judgmental manner” into every response.

Show the behaviour instead: “I would speak with Sam privately and ask what has changed before deciding whether this is a conduct issue.” That sentence demonstrates information gathering, privacy, and fair judgment without announcing the trait.

Do grammar, spelling, typing speed, or appearance count?

Acuity tells raters to focus on substance and quality rather than grammar or spelling. Errors matter only when they make the reasoning difficult to understand. Acuity publishes no applicant WPM cutoff, and your score report contains no typing-speed result.

Video responses still need to be audible and understandable, and current conduct guidance asks applicants to look directly at the camera. But CASPer is not an acting or wardrobe assessment. Focus preparation on clear content and functional delivery rather than a polished set, expensive camera, or memorized performance.

What does CASPer not score?

CASPer does not test your science knowledge, GPA, MCAT content, clinical diagnosis, or knowledge of a particular school. It also does not provide applicants with a score for each competency or a typed-versus-video breakdown.

• There is no required medical vocabulary.
• There is no universal correct action for every ambiguous prompt.
• There is no public word-count target or typing-speed minimum.
• There is no applicant-facing score for empathy, ethics, or professionalism.
• There is no official fourth-quartile template you can memorize.

What does a stronger scored response look like?

A stronger response answers the exact prompt, handles uncertainty, and commits to a proportionate plan. It does not need to be long. Compare these two openings to a scenario where a teammate has repeatedly missed deadlines and another teammate wants immediate punishment.

Our CASPer answer-structure guideturns those behaviours into a repeatable process, while the common-mistakes guideshows where otherwise thoughtful answers lose clarity.

How should you practise for the real criteria?

Practise one observable skill at a time. After a timed response, score your process with five questions: Did I answer the prompt? Did I use the scenario? Did I consider the affected perspectives? Did I make and justify a practical decision? Could a rater follow it?

1. Complete the response under the current timer without notes or outside help.
2. Underline the sentence that directly answers the question.
3. Circle each assumption you treated as fact.
4. Identify the stakeholder whose needs never affected your plan.
5. Rewrite only the action and justification, then apply the lesson to a fresh scenario.

Finish with Acuity's official full practice assessment to test the complete sequence. For repeatable timed work between official mocks, use a CASPer practice testwith both typed and video responses.

Are Snapshot and Duet included in the CASPer score?

No. Snapshot and Duet were separate products associated with the former Altus Suite naming, not competency subscores inside CASPer. Current CASPer video responses are built into the CASPer assessment, and Acuity says typed and video responses form the single combined CASPer score. Do not use old Snapshot guidance to infer how the current video section is rated.

Bottom line

CASPer scores demonstrated judgment, not declared virtue. Answer the question, engage with the facts and uncertainty, consider relevant people, justify a workable action, and communicate it clearly. Use competencies to inspect your behaviour—not as a list of words to force into every response.