What does a z-score indicate?

What does a z-score indicate?

• A. A z-score indicates how many standard deviations a score is from the mean
• B. A z-score is the percentile rank
• C. A z-score is the raw score
• D. A z-score is the minimum possible score

Answer: (A)

A z-score tells you how far a value is from the distribution’s mean, expressed in units of standard deviation. It standardizes scores so you can compare results across different tests or scales. If the score is above the mean, the z-score is positive; if below, it’s negative. The magnitude shows how many standard deviations away the value lies. It’s computed as z = (X − μ)/σ (or with a sample mean and standard deviation, z = (X − x̄)/s). This makes it easy to gauge relative standing: a z of 1 means one standard deviation above the mean, a z of −2 means two standard deviations below, and so on. While z-scores relate to probabilities under the standard normal curve, the z-score itself is not a percentile, nor is it the raw score or a minimum possible score.

A z-score tells you how far a value is from the distribution’s mean, expressed in units of standard deviation. It standardizes scores so you can compare results across different tests or scales. If the score is above the mean, the z-score is positive; if below, it’s negative. The magnitude shows how many standard deviations away the value lies. It’s computed as z = (X − μ)/σ (or with a sample mean and standard deviation, z = (X − x̄)/s). This makes it easy to gauge relative standing: a z of 1 means one standard deviation above the mean, a z of −2 means two standard deviations below, and so on. While z-scores relate to probabilities under the standard normal curve, the z-score itself is not a percentile, nor is it the raw score or a minimum possible score.