If you?re averaging 24-26 on practice tests, I don?t see ANY reason why you shouldn?t score in the 20?s on the actual test. I took the DAT last September and got a 21, I think I was averaging around a 22 on Kaplan. And Kaplan was the only review source I used.
If you?re doing that well, which if I remember the scaling correctly means that you?re only missing a couple questions, you?ve obviously got the pacing down. And that?s half the battle. I wrote a post about my experiences after I took it, but I think my advice at the time was to work enough practice problems that you can ?see? the answer. After awhile, with tons of practice, the correct answer would kind of ?jump? of the paper. At least with top/front/side stuff and the folding ones at the end. And those were the hardest questions for me. Hole punching is pretty straightforward, as is cube counting and angle ranking. I guess the questions where you have to imagine what the object?s shadow would look like (right?) would fall somewhere in the medium-difficulty range.
My advice: sounds like you?re well on your way to getting a score in the twenties. Just make sure you keep your speed up on the actual test. It?s trickier than the practice stuff. You need to blow through the hole punching and angle ranking in under 5 minutes or so per section to allow time to count cubes and figure out the folding questions at the end. And keep in mind that on the actual test the angle ranking is MUCH harder than on the practice tests. After fooling around with a couple of them I said screw it, went with my gut, and just pounded through the rest of that section. I?m not so sure that I could have figured half of them out without a ruler and a protractor, there are only a couple degrees of difference between some of them. The longer I sat and looked at those things, the more they all blurred together. Especially when you see how poor the screen resolution at the testing center. It was pixilated, almost impossible. I figured that at least with the other sections I could have a decent shot at getting the correct answer.
Hope this helps some, I?m rambling. Just don?t think for a second that you ?can?t? get above a 20 or ?should? get an 18 or something. I have several friends who have gotten 20?s or 21?s, and one who got a score in the mid-20?s.
Good luck.
