DAT Achievers scores compared to actual scores?

[dental555]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I bought the 5 test DAT Achiever, planning on taking the DAT in about 5 weeks. However, after reading on here about how tough Achiever is compared to the real test, I almost don't want to take it in fear of getting a bad score and stressing out. I mostly wanted to buy the practice test to analyze where I was at along as I studied, and to see what kind of score I could expect come test day. But if Achiever is that much harder, how useful is it in predicting your score? I guess it could still be useful to identify areas of weakness.

With that said, do you guys know how a Achiever score would compare to a real DAT score? For example, does a 17 on the Achiever usually end up as a 20 on the real DAT, or is it even really possible to scale like that? Should I just take the test anyways to get comfortable with the format and try not to be to discouraged if I get a bad score? The only reason I'm asking is because during my undergrad classes I could usually tell pretty well going in to the test how I was going to do, and going in with confidence helped relieve stress and I usually got the best scores this way.

Any other tips in general about using the Achiever tests?

 

[jwest88]

Hey, I bought the 7 test achiever. But I only started taking them after I took the first three topscore tests. Looking back, I would probably take the first two topscore tests to build up a foundation and then move on to achiever saving the last topscore test for the week before the exam. Achiever is very challenging, and it may just be discouraging if you start out with it. However, if you take easier practice tests to start and you do well, it can help push you to do better.

 

[tommyli128]

The way I did it was achiever until one week before my test. The final week, i took a top score test every other day. I usually scored 20+ in topscore and that really helped to boost my confidence compared to the 15-18 range for achiever. Honestly, don't let it get you down, i ended up score about 7-8 points higher on my actual DAT compared to achiever. Use achiever as a tool to show you what you don't know instead of going OH **** I KNOW NOTHING hah 😀 hope that helps

 

[dental555]

Haha 7-8 points better? Thats ridiculous. But yeah I guess I won't use it as a score predictor, just to see what areas I'm strong/weak in. That kinda sucks, I was really hoping to see where I was at, seems like to do that I'll need to buy another test...

 

[TheDentist16]

Achiever is way harder than the real DAT. I had a 5-6 point differential comparing Achiever (16-17) to my real DAT (21-23). TopScore is pretty indicative of how you'll do on the real DAT though.