DAT 19AA/18TS/30PAT (question on standardized scoring)

[wolfchild007]

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Just took my DAT today and was disappointed with my science and math scores. Made me wonder how they actually score the test.

18 bio
18 Gchem
18 Ochem
30 PAT
21 RC
18 QR
18 TS
19 AA

I thought I was going to score in the high 20s in the chemistry and math sections because I had been doing so well on the practice tests and was really surprised when I got 18's.

Does anyone know how much the DATs vary in difficulty level? I got a 30 on PAT which I thought was really easy compared to CDP but did poorly in my strongest subjects.

How can they make a standardized test where they weight it the same for all students if the tests are all different, or are they the same? Anyone know how they actually score the DAT? If they compare your scores to everyone else who has taken the same test to give you a percentile, how do they do this if not everyone has taken the test yet? Im very confused. Can anyone explain?

Also, do you think schools will look at my 18TS and be thrown off by my 30PAT and 3.7 overall, 3.6 science gpa from James Madison University? Im worried mang!

 

[kellyyo]

what practice tests did you do?

 

[wolfchild007]

I did all the Achiever tests (7) and I did 5 full CTD tests. I didn't do that well on the science sections for these (usually 16 bio, 18 genchem, 19 ochem) and I took the 2007 free ADA test and got 25 gen and ochem so I guess I thought this was the closest representation of the real DAT but clearly I was wrong.

It seemed like the questions I got on the DAT were NOTHING like the stuff I have been studying for the past 2 months. Im pissed! lol

 

[kellyyo]

yuck....seemed really good practice scores. what about percentiles, at least should be 70th ish? mine is on 18th, need work harder i guess....

 

[Datooth]

Looks like the same thing that happened to me. I wonder if we got the same exam.

 

[aznnytezx]

Looks like the same thing that happened to me. I wonder if we got the same exam.

What did you end up making?

 

[kellyyo]

nono you misunderstood me, i was saying my test is on 18th. have not taken yet..

 

[two thirty]

With your GPA and PAT you should be fine. TS is a little low(even so, barely below avg accepted), but the 30 PAT will really make you stand out.

 

[pjyi]

Does anyone know how much the DATs vary in difficulty level? I got a 30 on PAT which I thought was really easy compared to CDP but did poorly in my strongest subjects.

Same here
Math has always been my strongest subject
I got 800 on SAT math, 800 and Math IIC
I was getting 27 on practice tests
and I scored a 18!! i could not believe it

 

[kellyyo]

Does anyone know how much the DATs vary in difficulty level? I got a 30 on PAT which I thought was really easy compared to CDP but did poorly in my strongest subjects.

Same here
Math has always been my strongest subject
I got 800 on SAT math, 800 and Math IIC
I was getting 27 on practice tests
and I scored a 18!! i could not believe it

were the questions hard? did you do math destroyer? that seemed the one the most difficult practice out there.

 

[wolfchild007]

I don't know how they can weight all the tests the same though.. I've read tons of posts on here about how the PAT section is wayyyy harder than CDP but mine was a breeze I thought. I just found this old post that was worded well:

Can someone explain to me how the DAT is scored in terms of what the percentiles mean (who are your scores being compared to)?
I know that you're essentially being compared to other test-takers, but are these testers the ones from the same day that you're taking your exam (assuming it's the same test)? I thought this would be odd since the test is offered on so many days year round, and therefore the sample of scores would be small.
So if the scores are not composed of other test takers that take it on the same day, is it test takers of the same test where the tests are recycled?
Or is your score compared to the history of DAT scores? (which would be odd since there are different tests and are ever changing)

 

[Faux]

Aren't Achiever + CTD sciences one of the lesser study materials to use compared to Destroyer, Q vault, topscore in terms of difficulty and accuracy??

Anyway, you did alright and your GPA is good.

 

[wolfchild007]

Looks like the same thing that happened to me. I wonder if we got the same exam.

I was defeintely not prepared for the specificity and odd questions that were thrown at me

 

[wolfchild007]

Looks like the same thing that happened to me. I wonder if we got the same exam.

Did you have questions along the lines of:

 

[pjyi]

were the questions hard? did you do math destroyer? that seemed the one the most difficult practice out there.

Only parts I got confused were the 1 probability question and 1 trig question

I thought I missed 3 at most.....

 

[wolfchild007]

Looks like the same thing that happened to me. I wonder if we got the same exam.

I was defeintely not prepared for the specificity and odd questions that were thrown at me

 

[pjyi]

were the questions hard? did you do math destroyer? that seemed the one the most difficult practice out there.

Oh btw I did not do the math destroyer

 

[kellyyo]

Only parts I got confused were the 1 probability question and 1 trig question

I thought I missed 3 at most.....

that is alarming....i did math destroyer and averaging 24ish and felt pretty good. guess not.. need some more practices. i still have 4 more QR on bootcamp
the most sad thing there was one post pointed out 5 errors in 2009 test and was confirmed by the adea and there was a QR question error sigh.....

 

[asne0407]

what schools are you applying to? I think with your GPA you will be fine...don't stress too much as long as you don't have any subject below 17!

 

[gn4]

Did you have questions along the lines of:

-" ?"
-" "
-" ?"

I was defeintely not prepared for the specificity and odd questions that were thrown at me

You should probably edit these posts. I don't think you are allowed to post specific questions. At least that's what I hear from Glimmer. haha.

Anyway, I think your scores are just based on how many questions you get right. The percentiles show you how you did compared to everybody else who had the same test.

 

[gn4]

Your GPA is fine and nothing below 18. You will be fine. You will get in somewhere.

 

[wolfchild007]

what schools are you applying to? I think with your GPA you will be fine...don't stress too much as long as you don't have any subject below 17!

Im from VA so VCU is my top choice.

VCU
Maryland
WVU

What other schools would you recommend? I don't know what my stretch and backup schools should be

 

[asne0407]

I would look at the private schools and look for the ones with your GPA range because even if the average is a 20AA your are close enough...maybe NYU?

 

[tjung789]

How many weeks did you study for wolfchild?

 

[andrewhntran]

30 for PAT? How is that possible? You must have gotten a test with really easy PAT and super hard science.

 

[wolfchild007]

How many weeks did you study for wolfchild?

I studied for 2 months but only one of those months I studied hard. I feel liked I didn't study or prep with the right test prep materials tho. Achiever and Crack the DAT were no good in my opinion.

 

[wolfchild007]

You might get in trouble for that. Anyway, 30 for PAT? How is that possible? You must have gotten a test with really easy PAT and super hard science.

The PAT seemed the same/ slightly easier compared Crack the DAT (even though I frequently scored in the mid 20s on the practice tests). and my sciences did seem a lot harder than what I was used to seeing. Bio was so specific and chemistry was stuff I had not seen. I'm really discouraged about my TS score :cry:

 

[Glimmer1991]

Hi all,

Please see my most recent thread about posting DAT questions. Wolfchild, I see you have cleaned things up--great! Now, andrewhntran, it would be great if you could edit your quoted text. 🙂

http://forums.sdn.net/showthread.php?t=1018706

 

[ModifiedBass]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the percentiles next to your scores are based on how others did on that specific set of questions for that section, which I'm guessing they mix for each test. For example, my percentiles for the varying sections are different from others that I have seen in breakdowns with the same actual score (for my 21 RC I got 88.9% whereas I've seen scores of 22 get around an 86%. Also for my 20 QR I got 95.1% whereas I have seen other QR 20s get around 86%). So the percentiles vary but I guess the given score doesn't change as much for a more difficult/easier exam, which seems somewhat flawed. If you post your percentiles it may be possible to gauge the difficulty of your specific DAT sections.