diagnostic tests fyi

[dmd2011]

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im starting this thread because it seems like everyday that people are posting their concerns about their scores on DAT practice tests. ive responded to many of these but people dont seem to listen. for the last time: the practice tests are harder than the real thing.

 

[dmd2011]

this is a public service announcement...bump

 

[poc91nc]

when did you take the DAT? Just about everybody who has taken the test twice has said that the DAT has gotten harder for this year. Their opinions differ as to what areas of the test have gotten harder, but I'm not quite sure if "practice tests are harder" is such a gimmie any more. Just my opinion. If we're talking topscore and kaplan, the level of difficulty seems to be about dead on. I say this because I've been monitoring trends for awhile, and the general trend in past years has been a 2 to 3 score increase between topscore and the real exam. However, that gap seems to be getting smaller and smaller. I suppose it could be a safe bet that Achiever is still harder than the real test. Especially the second and third Achiever tests, but for topscore and most Kaplan exams, it would be safe to get 20's (assuming thats your goal on the real tests). Take nothing for granted is my approach. Also, Kaplan hasn't updated their garbage material in like 20 years, so it won't reflect any changes made by the actual exam. Topscore I don't know, but with Kaplan exams....thats something to think about.

 

[bruinpredent]

when did you take the DAT? Just about everybody who has taken the test twice has said that the DAT has gotten harder for this year. Their opinions differ as to what areas of the test have gotten harder, but I'm not quite sure if "practice tests are harder" is such a gimmie any more. Just my opinion. If we're talking topscore and kaplan, the level of difficulty seems to be about dead on. I say this because I've been monitoring trends for awhile, and the general trend in past years has been a 2 to 3 score increase between topscore and the real exam. However, that gap seems to be getting smaller and smaller. I suppose it could be a safe bet that Achiever is still harder than the real test. Especially the second and third Achiever tests, but for topscore and most Kaplan exams, it would be safe to get 20's (assuming thats your goal on the real tests). Take nothing for granted is my approach. Also, Kaplan hasn't updated their garbage material in like 20 years, so it won't reflect any changes made by the actual exam. Topscore I don't know, but with Kaplan exams....thats something to think about.

hmmm...having taken the exam over the summer I can't really comment on whether or not it has gotten more difficult, but it would seem to me that any lower scores being posted on sdn may be because people are taking the exam during the year on top of all of their classes, midterms, finals, volunteering, etc...

scores over the summer tend to be higher since people tend to have more time to study (i know this was the case for me).

or i may be wrong and the exam has just gotten more difficult, which is very likely. however i'm still confident that achiever and topscore are more difficult than the real deal, no matter how much harder it has gotten.

have you seen some of those questions?


either way, best of luck people and don't freak out...its just a test after all 😛

 

[poc91nc]

I think another reason its a good idea to get desired scores on the practice exams is to be prepared for a "bad day" on the actual exam. Think of it as high altitude training. For every person who is calm and collected on test day, there is probably someone who is a nervous wreck. Can't afford to trivialize test day jitters, it can make a big difference.

 

[dmd2011]

when did you take the DAT? Just about everybody who has taken the test twice has said that the DAT has gotten harder for this year. Their opinions differ as to what areas of the test have gotten harder, but I'm not quite sure if "practice tests are harder" is such a gimmie any more. Just my opinion. If we're talking topscore and kaplan, the level of difficulty seems to be about dead on. I say this because I've been monitoring trends for awhile, and the general trend in past years has been a 2 to 3 score increase between topscore and the real exam. However, that gap seems to be getting smaller and smaller. I suppose it could be a safe bet that Achiever is still harder than the real test. Especially the second and third Achiever tests, but for topscore and most Kaplan exams, it would be safe to get 20's (assuming thats your goal on the real tests). Take nothing for granted is my approach. Also, Kaplan hasn't updated their garbage material in like 20 years, so it won't reflect any changes made by the actual exam. Topscore I don't know, but with Kaplan exams....thats something to think about.

i took the DAT last year.