Key Takeaways
- Some Australian Initial Teacher Education programs use the Casper test as part of entry, screening for the personal qualities teaching requires
- It measures empathy, communication, fairness and judgement, never teaching or subject knowledge
- The teaching version of Casper is shorter than the health-professions version: around 8 scenarios in roughly 45 to 65 minutes
- Casper is reported as a quartile, with no pass or fail; each program decides how to use your result
- You can prepare effectively by learning the format and practising under the real timed clock
Do Australian teaching degrees require the Casper test?
Some Australian universities use the Casper test as part of entry to Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs, the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees that qualify you to teach. Teaching asks for patience, fairness, strong communication and sound judgement with students, families and colleagues, and Casper gives admissions teams a standardised read on those non-academic qualities alongside your ATAR or prior study.
Not every teaching program requires Casper, and you usually apply through your state or territory tertiary admissions centre (such as UAC, VTAC or QTAC) or directly to the university, which will tell you whether Casper is needed and the deadline. Requirements change year to year, so confirm the current rule on the official page for the exact teaching course you are applying to. For the wider Australian picture, see our Casper test Australia guide.
Casper is not LANTITE
Do not confuse Casper with the literacy and numeracy test that teaching students sit during their degree. Casper is a situational judgement test taken at the entry stage to assess personal and professional attributes, and it does not test literacy, numeracy or any academic content.
8 scenarios across two sections in the shorter teaching version.
- Typed scenarios 6
- Video scenarios 2
The teaching Casper test format
The Casper version used for Australian teaching programs is shorter than the one health applicants sit. It keeps the same open-response, two-section shape, video responses and typed responses, but runs around 8 scenarios in roughly 45 to 65 minutes rather than the full 11. As always, the scenarios are everyday dilemmas about people and fairness, with no classroom or subject knowledge required.
Each scenario is scored by a different trained rater, and you are reported as a quartile against everyone who sat the same test type in your cycle, from the 1st (lowest) to the 4th (highest). There is no pass mark. Confirm your exact format and number of scenarios when you register, and see the complete Casper test guide for how scoring works.
A teaching-style scenario
You are leading a group activity and one person keeps dominating while a quieter member is being talked over and looks discouraged. How do you handle it? A strong answer notices both people, steps in fairly without embarrassing anyone, and creates space for the quieter person while keeping the dominant one engaged rather than shut down.
How to prepare for the teaching Casper test
Even though the teaching version is shorter, the preparation is the same, and the tighter format makes finishing on time just as important.
- Learn the format cold, including the shorter teaching structure, so nothing surprises you on the day
- Lead with empathy and fairness, acknowledging the people in each scenario before deciding what to do
- Rehearse the typed clock and lift your typing speed if it is holding you back with a free typing speed test
- Practise speaking to camera for the video section, then watch it back for tone and pacing
- Do full, timed mock scenarios with honest feedback on every answer
Fairness, empathy and clear communication are exactly the qualities both teaching and Casper reward. Our 9 Casper competencies breakdown explains what raters look for, and the 3.5-minute typed response strategy shows how to structure an answer that lands a high quartile under time.
Your Casper timeline, step by step
- 1Step 1
Check your programs
Confirm which of your programs require Casper and the deadline for your result.
- 2Step 2
Register early
Book your Casper sitting through Acuity Insights, well before your earliest deadline.
- 3Step 3
Practise under the clock
Rehearse timed scenarios across both sections until the format feels routine.
- 4Step 4
Sit the test
Complete the video and typed sections in a single sitting.
- 5Step 5
Send your results
Distribute your Casper result to every program before its application deadline.