Changes to the DAT Starting March 1, 2025

[Ryxndek]

Howdy folks, just received an email from the ADA about new changes to the DAT. Here's the breakdown:

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Starting March 1, 2025, the American Dental Association (ADA) will implement a new scoring model for the Dental Admission Test (DAT). Thus, the current 2-digit score reporting scale (1 to 30) will change to a 3-digit scale (200 to 600).

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• No Content Changes: The good news is, there are no changes to the exam content!​
• More Accurate Scores: The new scoring model will provide a more accurate estimate of your skills, giving you and prospective dental schools more insight into your level of readiness for the rigors of dental school.​
• Unofficial Scores: The new scoring model requires additional analyses to provide a more precise score, so beginning March 1, 2025, unofficial score reports will not be available at the testing site.​
• Official Scores: The ADA will begin reporting the new scoring scale to ADEA AADSAS© (ADEA Associated American Dental School Application Service) beginning March 1, 2025 but will also continue to report historical 2-digit scores. Scores under both scoring models are considered valid.​

I've attached the FAQ below as well!

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[Mr.Smile12]

In other words, it will be scored like the Optometry Admissions Test, which the ADA also administers!

Home

Apply for the Optometry Admission Test (OAT)

oat.ada.org

Remember, percentiles don't change.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I like the concordance table in the attachment. Hopefully the suspension of having immediate unofficial scores is temporary. But do not be surprised if this becomes permanent. (Confirmed: it's permanent.)

The OAT is scored on a 200-400 range, so scoring up to 600 gives more precision. 400 will be 50th percentile, and presuming a STD of 20 points, Competitive 3-digit scores should be 420+. Note that 430 is equivalent to 20s across the board except for a QR 19, which is my general advice for a strong application. There will be greater distinction among those with higher than 430, which in the end makes it easier for us to measure selectivity among the schools.

This should only affect the US DAT. Anyone know if the Canadian DAT will also change its scoring?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Bumping for the prospective 2025-2026 applicant. Impressions from ADA/ADEA webinar to prehealth advisors (subject to any correction).

Test-takers before March 1, 2025, will be scored under the old two-digit score and receive an unofficial score report before leaving the test center.

On and after March 1, 2025, test-takers will wait roughly 4 weeks for their official score to be reported to AADSAS/TMDSAS. You should get your scores prior to AADSAS 2026 opening on May 1, 2025.

* No change to test content or preparation.
* The 3-digit score looks like it will incorporate all the 2-digit subscores that we have been familiar with (RC, QR, PAT, BIO). Will confirm how "subscores" are reported?
* Do not expect a 1-1 relationship/concordance in scores. Any concordance scales will be shared to help test re-takers who have two-digit and three-digit DAT scores on their application profile. One can still expect a reasonable comparison by percentile score. (October 2024: the concordance table will be released.)
-- Most applicants get scores between 11 and 24 (only 14 levels), so a 3-digit DAT score can increase the precision of test-taker groups.
-- Main concern: with fewer levels, successful test-takers who tend to have more correct answers through "guessing" cannot be easily distinguished from those who answer correctly because they know the content. It breaks up any "clustering" of candidates around a specific two-digit score.
-- We don't expect changes in percentile ranking. Information about performance under the old scoring model will not be shared outside the Testing Administration Service (DTS).

Call to action:
* Predental applicants for 2025-2026 should plan to take their DAT to avoid testing at the last minute. All other policies (wait 90 days for a retake) will not be affected as far as I know.
* Tests under the old protocol should remain valid for up to 3 years (due to schools' policy), so if you have a strong DAT score now, you should look where you could fall as a 3-digit score, but you should not need to retake your DAT unless otherwise told or it sunsets.

P.S. Interestingly, the webinar mentions that the OAT is NOT run in a 3-parameter model, even though they use a 3-digit score. They are looking into it, but no changes at this time.

Also, the organic chemistry syllabus for the DAT is being restructured for 2026 administration, but it likely will have little impact on the content.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

"Official" links about the new DAT scores and reporting

ADEA GoDental https://www.adea.org/For-Sorting-New/the-admissions-process/updates-to-the-ada-dat-scoring-and-reporting ADEA main for advisors and admissions https://www.adea.org/pathways-to-oral-health/updates-to-the-ada-dat-scoring-and-reporting

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Mr.Smile12]

A concordance table is available now.

https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/education/dat_scorereportingscale.pdf

 

[Mr.Smile12]

We have posted an article about the DAT scoring changes occurring next month in March.