Effective 3/2/2010 Calculators will be allowed on the DAT!

[Tooth1]

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I just wanted to post a clear thread abt calculators being used on the DAT effective 3/2/2010. There's a post by txlonghorn who 1st announced this news but it was a bit unclear since its stated "Calc on DAT" and it was confusing for some of us.

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/d...guide_2010.pdfhttp://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_guide_2010.pdf

Page 43

what are your thoughts? do you think QR will get harder/more word problems? Will it also be available on g.c. chem as well?

 

[chuongnn18]

Link doesn't work. Your link doesn't show the whole address.

 

[Tooth1]

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_guide_2010.pdf

sorry abt that....hope it works

 

[reagansmash]

hm, interesting.
I'm not sure what to think now. For me QR was difficult because I hadn't taken a math course since high school (I took the test about 5 years out of high school)...I can understand using it for some complex problems or conversions...but a lot of the math could be done in my head or with that dry erase grid paper thingy.
Should be interesting though...I plan on re-taking the DAT in a few months so I guess we'll see how it goes!

 

[predental1187]

wow, that would have been helpful for me when I took the DAT this summer...I never have been that great at mental math. i hope they take this into consideration when looking at QR scores from 2009 (I am applying for entering class of fall 2011)
will they still be the same exact types of questions? if so, scores should start going up a lot. I am kind of worried now about all the other applicants I will be competing with who took the new version...

 

[Tooth1]

Its very strange why they're changing it all of a sudden. I heard rumors that they wanted to remove QR sections once and for all but instead of that they gave us calculator. My question is will be on Gen. chem too or is it just for the QR section only? My guess is that QR will become a lot harder and it will be mostly word problems (our favorite ) lol . Donno scary stuff.

 

[Extirpator]

my guess... they won't change the questions at all... however, people will feel like they need to study for qr even less than they currently do... and therefore qr scores will go even lower and people will complain about how much harder they have it compared to those who took it a year earlier🙄

 

[Svart Aske]

You guys better start practicing with that crappy little on-screen calculator. I personally don't think that it will speed up calculations significantly if at all.

 

[doc3232]

You guys better start practicing with that crappy little on-screen calculator. I personally don't think that it will speed up calculations significantly if at all.

It might not speed them up for you, but some people need a while to do some multiplications.

 

[yuppers]

As long as the calculator does not have any trig functions, logs, etc it shouldn't make a big difference.

 

[yuppers]

my guess... they won't change the questions at all... however, people will feel like they need to study for qr even less than they currently do... and therefore qr scores will go even lower and people will complain about how much harder they have it compared to those who took it a year earlier🙄

Wouldn't be surprised.

 

[srb711]

I agree, that calculator sucks and it's not easy to use since you have to use the mouse. So it's going to take more time to use it and, since the QR section is already difficult due to time constraints, you would be better off learning to do the math in your head or on the dry erase board.

 

[The Anhedonia]

You guys better start practicing with that crappy little on-screen calculator. I personally don't think that it will speed up calculations significantly if at all.

yeah, though this is super lame that calculators will now be offered, it's not going to make much of a difference

 

[reagansmash]

I'm pretty sure that guide said it was just for QR...maybe they decided to give the test takers a calculator since the QR is at the end of the exam, and math can be time consuming if you're not great at it (like myself!) so a lot of people don't finish...I remember only getting through about 3/4 of the questions when I took the test this summer. Well I will schedule after 3/2 then! 😀

 

[KarmaChameleon]

I think this could be interesting. It will be really nice for the somewhat more complex calculations (3 or 4 digit number multiplied/divided by 3 or 4 digit number) that would take a minute to do by hand.

At the same time, there is so little time on this section relative to the number of questions that it might not make too much of a difference. It will be interesting to see the trend of the scores compared to the examinees who did not have the calculator available, because if they go up then it will be a nice boost to the AA which many people have dragged down because of the QR scores.

 

[MowgliR]

Instead of clicking individual numbers on-screen, do you think we would be able to just input numbers from the keyboard?

 

[Cofo]

well crap.... this news just screwed me up. should we all wait to take the DAT after 3/2 now? dammit...i was really looking forward to taking it over christmas break. will the calculator really make a difference in scores?

 

[doc3232]

well crap.... this news just screwed me up. should we all wait to take the DAT after 3/2 now? dammit...i was really looking forward to taking it over christmas break. will the calculator really make a difference in scores?

Well...what if they change the QR section?

Who knows what might happen...if you are terrible at making basic calculations like 82 x 5 or whatever then you should probably wait...but if you can do them correctly at a decent speed then go ahead and take it in now in the break.

 

[whawha]

I don't think it will make QR section any easier...

 

[dmd87]

I don't think it will make QR section any easier...

+1

spending time gettin the calculator up and putting in the numbers will waste time for a lot of the questions imo.