Validity Evidence for the Use of Casper in Admissions Decisions Within an Occupational Therapy Program

• In Event: Admissions and Enrollment Management in Health Professions Education

Abstract

Casper, an online situational judgement test that assesses personal and professional characteristics, is used in admissions to health professions programs. This validity study explored the incremental validity of Casper over GPA for predicting student performance and how Casper could be used to impact the diversity of a cohort selected for admission to an occupational therapy program. Multiple regression analysis results indicate that Casper improves the prediction of performance over and above GPA (change in Adj. R2 = 3.2%). Regression tree analysis results demonstrate that placing greater weight on Casper versus GPA (0.84 vs. 0.16) may result in a slightly more diverse cohort in terms of undergraduate degree. Results provide preliminary validity evidence for the inclusion of Casper for applicant selection.

Authors

• Mary Roduta Roberts, University of Alberta

• Cecilia Brito Alves, Medical Council of Canada

• Fu Chen, University of Macau