i think people perceive kaplan and topscore to be easier than the real DAT based off of their scores. the content of all 3 tests were the same... in fact i think the DAT was harder simply because of how they asked the questions. sure my DAT score improved by 3 points going from kaplan final to the real DAT... and improved 4-5 points comparing topscore to DAT, but i think this is all because topscore and kaplan have a standard scoring system that is harsher than the DAT. this ensures that when you take their test and you take the real DAT, you always 'improve'