Every score on a DAT report sits between 200 and 600, in 10-point steps. This page explains how that scale is built, what different parts of it mean, and why it looks nothing like the numbers most DAT advice still quotes.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated September 11, 2026
The scale changed on March 1, 2025. Before that, the DAT reported on a 1–30 scale. If a source quotes a “20 average” it is using the old scale — convert it with the DAT score converter before comparing.
How the range is built
Unlike exams that sum section scores into one total, the DAT reports eight independent numbers on the same scale. There is no combined total to compute, and no score is derived by adding others together.
Scores are scaled rather than raw, which means your number of correct answers is converted onto a common scale that accounts for small differences in difficulty between test forms. Two candidates with the same scaled score performed equivalently even if they sat different forms with different raw cut-offs.
The DAT scale
Value
Range
200–600
Increment
10 points
Possible scores
41
Approximate centre
400
Reported scores using it
8
What the range looks like in practice
Scores cluster around the middle, so the same 20-point move is worth very different amounts depending on where you start. Percentiles below are for the Academic Average; other reported scores differ by a few points.
Academic Average landmarks
Score
What it represents
Percentile
600
Top of the scale
100%
500
Well above average
97%
460
Around the upper end of matriculant averages
88%
440
Competitive at many programmes
81%
420
Around the lower end of matriculant averages
69%
400
Near the middle of the candidate pool
54%
360
Below average
25%
200
Bottom of the scale
0%
Reading old-scale numbers
Because the change is recent, essentially all published school data and community advice is still written in the old scale. These are the conversions you will need most often, taken from the ADA’s official concordance.
Common old-scale Academic Averages converted
Old AA
New AA
Percentile
23
470
91%
22
460
88%
21
440
81%
20
420
69%
19
410
62%
18
390
47%
For the complete table across all eight reported scores see the score converter. For the full percentile ranks, see DAT percentiles.
Your GPA carries as much weight as your DAT.
Dental schools read your science and cumulative GPA alongside your scores. Work out both with our free GPA calculators.
Every reported DAT score falls between 200 and 600, in 10-point increments. There are eight reported scores, and they all use the same scale. There is no failing score on the DAT — each dental school sets its own expectations.
600. It is the top of the scale for every reported score, and it corresponds to the 100th percentile. Because the scale moves in 10-point steps, the very top of the range is reached by a small number of candidates.
The ADA replaced the reporting scale on March 1, 2025. The change affects reporting only — the exam content, format and difficulty are unchanged. A wider scale gives more reporting granularity and makes scores from before and after the switch visibly distinct, so one is not mistaken for the other.
Around 400. The scale is centred so that a score near 400 sits close to the middle of the national candidate pool, though the exact percentile differs by a few points between reported scores because each has its own distribution.
No. The ADA does not set a passing score, and every score in the range is reportable. Each dental school decides what it considers acceptable, and most publish an average rather than a minimum.