DAT PAT scores and percentiles
Updated October 29, 2026
The Perceptual Ability Test is scored from 200 to 600 in steps of 10. The average PAT score in 2025 was about 4071, a 400 is the 52nd percentile2, and first-time dental students who entered in 2025 averaged 20.3 on the old scale, between 430 and 450 on the new one3.
- Score range
- 200 to 600, in steps of 10
- 2025 average
- 407 (17,430 attempts)
- Middle of the scale
- 400 is the 52nd percentile
- 2025 entering class
- Old 20.3, between 430 and 450
- Questions
- 90 in 60 minutes
- In the Academic Average?
- No, reported separately
Look up a PAT score
Pick a score to see its official percentile, how it compares with everyone who took the PAT in 2025, and its old-scale equivalent.
PAT attempts at each score, March to December 2025. Tap a bar to pick that score.
- ADA percentile
- 52nd
- 2025 tests at or below
- 48%
- Old 1–30 scale
- Between an old 18 (390) and 19 (410)
52% of test takers in the ADA's normative sample scored 400 or lower.
What is a good PAT score?
There's no passing score or official cutoff. Each dental school sets its own expectations, so check the programs you're applying to. The clearest benchmark is the students who got in: first-time, first-year dental students in the 2025 entering class averaged 20.3 on the old 1–30 PAT scale, against 19.4 for all applicants3. The ADA converts an old 20 to 430 (71st percentile) and an old 21 to 450 (81st percentile)2.
Here is how that entering class's PAT scores were spread. Scores were still on the old scale for this class, so the new-scale ranges come from the ADA's concordance table.
| Old PAT score | New scale | 2025 enrollees |
|---|---|---|
| 21 or higher | 450–600 | 44% |
| 19 to 20 | 410–430 | 31% |
| 17 to 18 | 360–390 | 18% |
| 14 to 16 | 280–340 | 5% |
| Lower than 14 | 200–250 | <1% |
| No score on file | 3% | |
About 75% of students who started dental school in 2025 had a PAT of 19 or higher on the old scale, which is 410 or higher on the new one, and 44% had 21 or higher (450 or higher).
The free 20-minute check-up covers all six PAT sections at test pace and gives you an estimated score range and percentile, plus a personalized plan for your weakest sections.
Take the free check-upPAT percentiles for every score
The ADA percentile is the share of the ADA's normative sample (more than 30,000 attempts over two years) that scored at or below each score2. The 2025 column applies the same definition to the 17,430 PAT attempts from March to December 20251. It runs up to four points lower, because 2025 test takers scored slightly higher than the normative sample. Old lists the old 1–30 scores the ADA converts to each score.
| Score | ADA percentile | 2025 | Old |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 | 100 | 100 | 29–30 |
| 590 | 100 | 100 | 28 |
| 580 | 99 | 99 | 26–27 |
| 570 | 99 | 99 | – |
| 560 | 99 | 99 | – |
| 550 | 99 | 98 | 25 |
| 540 | 98 | 98 | – |
| 530 | 98 | 97 | – |
| 520 | 97 | 96 | 24 |
| 510 | 96 | 95 | – |
| 500 | 94 | 94 | 23 |
| 490 | 93 | 92 | – |
| 480 | 90 | 89 | – |
| 470 | 88 | 86 | 22 |
| 460 | 84 | 82 | – |
| 450 | 81 | 78 | 21 |
| 440 | 76 | 73 | – |
| 430 | 71 | 67 | 20 |
| 420 | 65 | 61 | – |
| 410 | 59 | 55 | 19 |
| 400 | 52 | 48 | – |
| 390 | 46 | 42 | 18 |
| 380 | 39 | 35 | – |
| 370 | 33 | 29 | – |
| 360 | 27 | 24 | 17 |
| 350 | 22 | 20 | – |
| 340 | 18 | 16 | 16 |
| 330 | 15 | 13 | – |
| 320 | 12 | 10 | – |
| 310 | 10 | 8 | 15 |
| 300 | 8 | 7 | – |
| 290 | 6 | 5 | – |
| 280 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| 270 | 4 | 3 | – |
| 260 | 3 | 3 | – |
| 250 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| 240 | 2 | 2 | – |
| 230 | 2 | 1 | – |
| 220 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 210 | 1 | 1 | 11–12 |
| 200 | 1 | 1 | 1–10 |
Convert an old PAT score (1–30) to the new scale
The ADA's concordance table matches each old score to the new score in the same position in the score distribution2. Old scores of 10 or lower all convert to 200.
How the PAT is scored
Since March 1, 2025, every DAT score is reported on the 200 to 600 scale in steps of 10, replacing the old 1 to 30 scale. Scores from earlier tests are converted to the new scale when they are sent to dental schools through ADEA AADSAS2.
The PAT's 90 questions are scored with item response theory, which accounts for each question's difficulty, how well it separates strong from weak test takers, and how easy it is to guess. There's no penalty for guessing1. The ADA doesn't publish how many correct answers convert to which score.
The PAT is reported on its own. The Academic Average is the rounded average of Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Biology, General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, and doesn't include it1.
Questions
What is a good PAT score on the new DAT scale?
There's no official cutoff: each dental school sets its own expectations. The most useful benchmark is the students who got in. First-time dental students who entered in 2025 averaged 20.3 on the old PAT scale, and the ADA converts an old 20 to 430 and an old 21 to 450. A 430 is the 71st percentile and a 450 is the 81st.
What is the average PAT score?
About 407. The ADA reports a mean PAT score of 406.84 (standard deviation 66.81) across 17,430 attempts from March 1 to December 31, 2025. First-time test takers averaged 410.7 and repeat test takers 399.4.
Is 400 a good PAT score?
A 400 is the 52nd percentile, just above the middle of the ADA's normative sample. It falls between an old 18 (390) and an old 19 (410), below the 20.3 average of students who started dental school in 2025.
Is 430 a good PAT score?
A 430 is the 71st percentile and the ADA's equivalent of an old 20, close to the 20.3 average of first-time dental students who entered in 2025. About 75% of those students had scored 19 or higher on the old scale (410 or higher on the new one).
Is 500 a good PAT score?
Yes. A 500 is the 94th percentile, the equivalent of an old 23. Of the first-time dental students who entered in 2025, 44% had scored 21 or higher on the old scale, which converts to 450 or higher.
How do I convert an old PAT score to the new scale?
Use the ADA's concordance table above: an old 18 is about 390, a 20 is 430 and a 22 is 470. Scores from before March 1, 2025 are converted to the new scale when they are reported to dental schools through ADEA AADSAS.
Does the PAT count toward the Academic Average?
No. The Academic Average is the rounded average of Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Biology, General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. Dental schools see your PAT as its own score.
How is the PAT scored?
The PAT's 90 questions are scored with item response theory, which accounts for each question's difficulty, how well it separates strong from weak test takers, and how easy it is to guess. There's no penalty for guessing, so answer every question. The ADA doesn't publish how many correct answers convert to which score.
Keep going
Sources
- American Dental Association. Dental Admission Test (DAT) User's Manual, 2025 edition, Tables 1, 4 and 11.
- American Dental Association. Understanding the New Dental Admission Test (DAT) Score Reporting Scale, Tables 1 and 2. Updated January 29, 2025.
- Singh P, Istrate EC, Booker CL, West KP. U.S. Dental School Applicants and Enrollees, 2025 Entering Class, Tables 9 and 11. American Dental Education Association, March 2026.
The 2025 column is computed from the score counts the ADA publishes. Every other number is copied from these sources as published, except where rounded.
PAT Grind is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Dental Association, which administers the Dental Admission Test (DAT).