When your professor gives back an exam, the professor tells the class that the mean score was an 81. You received an 88. If you would like more information to be able to compare your grade to the grades of your classmates, which statistic would be most useful?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The standard deviation would be the most useful statistic because it would give you an idea of the level of variability among the grades. A lower standard deviation would suggest that the grades were tightly clustered around the mean, while a higher standard deviation would suggest that there was more variability. This would help you understand how well you performed compared to the rest of the class. The mode and median would not give much additional information beyond what the mean already told you, and the percentile of the mean score only tells you where the mean falls relative to the distribution of scores, rather than giving you information about the distribution itself.

When Your Professor Gives Back an Exam, the Professor Tells