Post Highlights
The CASPer test is a fairly intricate topic, and most people still feel trouble understanding its concept. Fortunately, this post highlights the key details necessary to encompass the overall premise! From its format to the scoring pattern, you’ll be apprised of everything regarding the CASper Test. #ThinkWithNiche
Learn what the CASPer Test is, why It was
created, how long it is, its format, how it is scored, how it is used in
admission procedures, and most importantly – how you can prepare for
it!
The CASPer test is still a very recent development in terms of medical
school requirements! As the number of medical schools incorporating this
test in their admission procedure is exponentially increasing, it has
become more crucial than ever to know more about the CASPer Test.
This post will bring light to everything that you must know about this test.
Table of Contents
CASPer Test – What It Is!
Why Was CASPer Test Created?
The Format of the CASPer Test
- Word-Based Scenarios
- Video-Based Scenarios
How Long It Is!
How It Is Scored!
How is CASPer Test Used in Admission Procedures?
How You Can Prepare for Your CASPer Exam!
CASPer Test – What it is!
Prepping for the MCAT and making sure that you get a high GPA is already
a prodigious task for prospective medical students. Although, there is
an additional test that you might have to qualify as a part of the
admission procedure of medical schools.
The CASPer test is the newest testing alternative that does not focus on
academic circles. Initially developed by the researchers at the
McMaster University Canada back in 2005, this exam is being introduced
in the application procedures of an increasing number of medical schools
across the world.
CASPer means Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal
Characteristics. It is not a test that revolves around your academic
knowledge or prowess of medical subjects. Rather, it is about evaluating
how you think! It intends to measure traits such as professionalism,
ethics, empathy, and communication.
Essentially, it’s a situational judgment test! It is a
psychology-based test that is meant to offer admission panels a better
understanding of who you are and the way you would react under a
specific condition.
Why Was CASPer Test Created?
As medical schools already need personal interviews and a myriad of
other requirements, why include the CASPer exam in the already tedious
process?
Well, the creators of this test found that the conventional methods of
analyzing the applicant’s personal traits were not consistently
effective!
As an applicant, your aim is to get selected into as many medical
schools as possible. Most applicants take up a great deal of time trying
to build an image of what they think the medical schools would want to
see in their students.
It means developing a well-crafted personal essay or even trying to
obtain a letter of recommendation from a person you know who would only
say the words of praise. Such a careful selection of the application
material is not always the best measure of an applicant’s real
intrapersonal or interpersonal skills.
A study found that a majority of incidents (around 95%) that
involved disciplinary measures against the doctors resulted from a lack
of professionalism instead of shortcomings with medical proficiency.
The CASPer exam aims to offer admission panels a better understanding of
what an applicant would be bringing to the table. It efficiently
assesses personal traits and offers quantifiable results to the medical
schools without any bias. This test shows the schools that an applicant
has the required skills to become a good medical professional.
The Format of the CASPer Test
The CASPer exam’s format is quite unique! However, it is not too far
away from the other standardized exams you have attempted before.
At a top level, the test is divided into 12 different sections.
Eight of these twelve sections use videos to build the stage for the
questions, and all the remaining four sections are word-based.
For each scenario provided, you’ll have to answer 3 questions! The test
gives 5-minutes time to respond to every scenario. So, you’ll have to
think fairly quickly.
An interesting fact about the CASPer exam is that a majority of the
questions won’t be about absolute medicine. You may have a question
hovering in between that makes you think like a surgeon or physician.
However, predominantly, the scenarios are framed to simulate common
real-world events that you have most likely encountered at some point in
life or the other.
For instance, you may see a scenario circling the workplace decision
followed by one that puts you at a birthday party with a close friend.
No matter how counterintuitive it may seem to the application process of
medical schools, these scenarios provide a good look at how you
perceive situations.
Let’s dive deep into the two sections of the test.
Video-Based Scenarios
For every scenario that uses videos, the questions asked are more
flexible! These sections resemble the questions that you would see in a
situational judgment test.
These sections start with a short 1 or 2-minute long video. The video
sets the stage and explains your role in the given scenario. For
instance, you may be one of the key employees in a workplace conflict or
a close friend trying to help the other person take a decision.
All the questions are relatively easy! In the majority of cases, they
are – ‘what will you do’ question types where you need to describe your
reasoning.
Word-Based Scenarios
These sections are a little different! Rather than videos, you are
introduced with a brief statement. The types of questions that follow
are a blend of the behavioral descriptor and standard situational
judgment ones.
Most often, these questions make you reflect on your thoughts on a
specific past experience. For instance, you might be asked to revisit a
situation where you faced a challenging decision or were forced to
compromise your moral ethics.
CASPer Test – How Long It Is
The CASPer exam is fairly brief! The overall test is 60-minutes long,
and it is divided into twelve sections that take 5-minutes each.
You’ll have the opportunity to take a short 15-minutes break (optional)
if you want. So, assuming that you take the break, you will be done with
the test within an hour and a half.
If you compare this test with other prodigious tests (such as MCAT), it isn’t at all very long.
How It Is Scored
When it comes to the CASPer exam, there are several unknown things for
the test-takers! The creators of the test don’t offer any information
regarding how the standardized marks are calculated.
To make things even worse, you do not get to see your final grade! Only
the medical schools in which you applied have access to your scores.
The CASPer test’s grading process is extremely unique! Every section of
the test is graded by a distinct person. It means you will have 12
different individuals assessing your answers!
These independent graders are from a broad range of academic
backgrounds! The individual sections can be evaluated by professional
educators, physicians, or other people who work in the medical field.
Besides, these graders come from distinct backgrounds as well! It is
meant to simulate the demographics of the collective population of
patients.
As a physician or a surgeon, you will be working with individuals of all
genders, incomes, and races. So, it is only reasonable that your
answers are assessed by a vast demographic too!
However, there’s a bright side to it as well! Many standard grading
protocols are overlooked as the graders are asked to ignore errors such
as grammar or spelling.
Rather, they concentrate on the bottom line of your answers. They even
consider incomplete sentences in case the time runs out before you
complete a section.
How is CASPer Test Used in Admission Procedures?
How your CASPer exam scores are going to be used in admission procedures varies extensively from one school to another.
This is still a very new test option in the medical field, and all the
schools haven’t mandated it yet! Additionally, every medical school
decides how to utilize the scores and the role it plays in their
decision-making process.
There’s no official standard of CASPer test scores. Some medical schools
consider the results but don’t use the official numbers for separating
candidates. For instance, it can be used as a measure of the first
impression. The admission panels might use it as a determining factor if
they are on the fence about an applicant.
On the contrary, some medical schools won’t even acknowledge a candidate
for admissions if he doesn’t reach a specified threshold. They might
have a cut-off percentage to screen applications.
After all, your CASPer test score is just another constituent to compare
your skills with other applicants. If the school needs these scores,
they will use them to identify where you rank among the large pool of
candidates.
How You Can Prepare for Your CASPer Exam
When it comes to the CASPer exam, you have to prepare extensively to
secure a good overall grade. Since it is a behavioral test with no
specified right or wrong answer, graders look at how well you respond
and your logical reasoning behind your answer instead of whether or not
it is the right choice.
Therefore, conventional test preparation methods do not apply to this
test. Cramming down books overnight won’t prove fruitful! You will
eventually have to dedicate time and effort to be completely prepared
for the CASPer test!
That being said, there are some things that you can do to boost your confidence before going in for the test.
First things first, ensure that your PC runs the software without any
interruptions. Unlike MCAT, it is not a test that you’ll have to
complete at a distant examination center with an invigilator. You can
take this test in the comfort of your home.
The official site of the CASPer test has an operating system checking
tool. You can use it to make sure things run fluently on exam day.
Another thing that you can do is polish your typing skills. As you only
get 5 minutes to answer the 3 questions, you have to type your answers
quickly. Ensure that you can type at least 40 words in a minute without
any significant grammatical errors.
Since spelling and grammatical errors will not affect your overall
score, it is still advised that you follow appropriate writing
conventions. You should take adequate time to practice typing without
making substantial mistakes.
Apart from the technical facets of the CASPer exam, you can also examine
the sample questions. These are easily available on the internet.
Besides, you can find video scenarios as well!
Before the exam day, take the chance opportunity of familiarizing
yourself with the medical code and ethics. There are plenty of sources
available on this topic. Realizing how a medical professional addresses
disputes can have a great influence in molding your approach.
Besides, recollect your life experiences! Contemplate the challenging
ones and list down the important lesson you learned! A substantial part
of the CASPer exam is to explain your thought process. Hence, being able
to effectively share real-life experiences can make a significant
difference.
Are Practice Tests with Sample Questions Helpful?
It is a ground of many conflicting opinions! It is partially because of
the fact that the CASPer exam is very new. Secondly, there are diverse
motives behind every opinion as well.
As you know that it is a psychology-based test, you wouldn’t find a
specific set of questions in it. So, will practice tests help in
prepping for the CASPer exam?
While there isn’t a definitive answer to this question, you can be sure
of one thing that when you solve practice tests, you often gain the
right perspective on how to go about the questing asked in the test. So,
it is worth investing your time in solving practice test papers to
ensure a good score!
Wrapping Up
Now that you know all about the CASPer exam and your options on how to
prepare for it, do not let its abstract nature overwhelm you! If
anything, it should come to you as good news.
You just have to do a little preparation on medical codes and ethics.
The exam is designed to be a helpful section of a much broader
procedure, so there is honestly no reason to worry about it.
In case you want to get comprehensive knowledge and sincerely prepare
for the exam, you can get in touch with our experienced professionals.
It is a process we are familiar with and aim to help you out through its
course.
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