What Does a Bad Casper Score Mean?

The Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics (Casper) Test is an online test where you are presented with various scenarios or prompts, and must respond to them in the form of a timed text or video recording response. The test is required by professional healthcare programs such as optometry, dentistry, physician’s assistant, physiotherapy, and medical schools. Depending on the institution, the Casper test result is weighed differently; however, the test score still plays an important role in admission decisions and adequate preparation should be taken.

The Casper test is made up of 2 sections: 1 for typed text responses and 1 for recorded video responses. There are a total of 15 scenarios (presented as a text passage or a 1-2 minute video), and each scenario includes 3 corresponding questions you must answer. In terms of scoring, only the first 9 scenarios (which require written responses) in the first section are marked, and each one is marked by a different evaluator. Feedback and results are currently not provided for the video-recorded responses in the second section. The evaluators will assign each scenario an overall mark out of 9 (1 being poor, and 9 being satisfactory) and a month later, you will receive a quartile score. The quartile score compares your performance to other test-takers who tested on the same date and time as you, giving you a sense of how you performed relative to others. For more information on the structure of the exam, what to expect during the test and Casper test scoring, read our articles on What to Expect on Casper Test Day? and How Is the Casper Test Scored.

Despite putting in the time and effort to prepare for a test, sometimes things do not go as planned. For the Casper test in particular, the questions are based around various situations and ethical dilemmas, so it can be especially hard to think on the spot. This can lead to a worse score than you had expected. However, there are ways to combat a bad Casper test score. In this article, we will cover 5 things you can do after scoring poorly on the Casper test.

‍Take a deep breath

If you have just gotten your test score back and it was not what you had expected, take a deep breath. This can be a good time to reach out to family and friends if you need the support, especially after you spent all that time preparing for it. Applying for professional school means you have likely been taking a heavy undergraduate workload at the same time, or you have done so in the past few years. In this environment, it can be very easy to start relating your numerical grades to your self-worth. Remember that a poor score is not the end of the world, and does not translate into you being a failure.

Be patient with yourself

It’s important to be understanding with yourself. The application cycle itself is a stressful process with all the required documents, such as the personal statement, supplementary essays, and letters of reference. Maybe you just had a bad day of nerves – the Casper test can be very overwhelming due to the tight time constraints for each scenario. The test can be long as well, especially if you do not take the break in the middle of the exam, and having your webcam constantly focused on you does not help with the test anxiety. Bad days can happen, and dwelling on how poorly you did will not be beneficial. Instead, be patient with yourself in knowing that you did the best that you could.

Apply

The Casper test is generally taken during the application cycle, so you will likely have already started your applications for professional school programs. Even though you did not perform as well as you had hoped, your best bet is still to continue with your applications. Keep in mind that your Casper test score is only a small portion of your entire application. Depending on the school, other factors are likely weighed more heavily, such as standardized test scores (OAT, MCAT and DAT) and GPA scores (especially for prerequisite courses). The Casper test can only be taken once for each admission cycle, so instead of giving up and waiting a year to take the Casper test and apply again, you might as well try your best during this cycle. There is no harm in trying, and as the Altus website says:

“Whichever quartile your Casper score is placed, it should not dissuade you from applying to any program. Many programs consider all quartiles and use Casper as an additional piece of information among many metrics to make admissions decisions.”

Schools are not very transparent on how Casper test scores are actually factored into the selection and admission process, so it would be best to just apply and see what happens.

Keep perspective

Before you spiral any deeper about doing poorly on the Casper test and how that will affect your chances of being admitted into your dream program, take a step back. Understand that this test is an important metric for admission, but it is a very small step in the big picture. There are applicants who are admitted into schools with a lower quartile score and still graduate from the professional school programs, so getting a poor Casper score is not necessarily indicative of your admission decision nor your ability to excel and graduate from your program. At the same time, keep in mind that the quartile score is only your score relative to others that took the Casper test at the same time and day as you. Schools will still receive a z-score as well, which will provide insight on your performance relative to all candidates and how far away you are from the overall mean. This means that even if you had received a poor Casper score, you may have just taken the test with a particularly competitive group of test-takers, but it does not mean that you performed especially poorly in comparison to the entire applicant pool. If you had taken the time to prepare for the test, and the rest of your application is competitive (in terms of academics and extracurriculars), trust in the process and in your preparation. At this point, the most you can do is continue along with your application and try your best.

Reflect

Despite the last point about trusting in your preparation, sometimes it can be hard to do so. If you are especially anxious about your performance and how that will impact you, take some time to reflect on your Casper test preparation and performance. There is always room for improvement, so it could take some time to reflect on why you did poorly. Perhaps it was your typing speed, or maybe your nerves got to you and you forgot to take a break in the middle of the exam to reset your nerves. During the test, it can also be easy to let your perceived performance on a previous scenario affect your ability to process and focus on the next scenario. Maybe you could have used more time to prepare or do more practice questions. Or maybe you could have taken more time to review the different question types and strategies to approach them, or simulated the real test environment with a timer. Your poor score could have also been due to distractions in your testing environment, or sometimes it just comes down to your testing style – some people are just better at multiple choice questions as opposed to free written responses. Reflecting can help you figure out what strategies to use in the future and how to improve on the Casper test, or any other test in general. For more pointers on the Casper test, read our articles on Casper Testing Strategies and Preparing for the Casper Test.

Conclusion

Bad test scores happen, but there are things you can do about it. The Casper test is a challenging, time-constrained exam so do not beat yourself up if you receive a score that you are not happy with. Hopefully these 5 tips will help you get yourself back on your feet and ready to continue with the rest of your application cycle. Good luck!

For more information on the Casper test, check out our articles on: What Is the Casper test,  How Much to Write in a Casper Response, and What Schools Require the Casper Test.