Question about DAT scoring

[DrTacoElf]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey guys i've been taking topscore exams and what i've noticed is that once you get past about 20 the scale from 20-30 is like determined by 5 or less questions. For instance in bio if you miss 1 you get 26, if you miss none you get 29. Is this how it is on the real DAT?

on reading you can miss 3 and get a 29 on topscore also.

I guess what i'm asking is if anyone knows the statistics behind dat scoring.

 

[Slain]

Hey guys i've been taking topscore exams and what i've noticed is that once you get past about 20 the scale from 20-30 is like determined by 5 or less questions. For instance in bio if you miss 1 you get 26, if you miss none you get 29. Is this how it is on the real DAT?

on reading you can miss 3 and get a 29 on topscore also.

I guess what i'm asking is if anyone knows the statistics behind dat scoring.

Really, if I were you, these are the kinds of questions I would ask after you have take the exam. Put the questions in the back of your mind, and focus on getting as many right answers as possible.

 

[umc27]

It's like a bell-curve... roughly. Each incriment (from 1-30) has a different area under the curve (the area under the curve represents a percentage). If your score is, lets say, the 80th percentile, the point at which 80% of the area under the curve is your score. The scores are different for different sections because the standard deviations are different for each section. 68% of the population (in this case, DAT takers) are within one standard deviation of the mean. 95% of the population is within two standard deviations, and 99% of the population is within three standard deviations. If any math or statistics majors can explain this any better, please do.