Question

having a low, negative z score indicates that the corresponding raw score:
o a. is one of the worst
o b. is one of the best
o c. is something that occurs frequently
o d. is something that rarely occurs
o e. none of the above are correct because it is not possible to have a low, negative z score

Explanation:

A z-score measures how many standard deviations a raw score is from the mean. A negative z-score means the raw score is below the mean, and a "low, negative" z-score (far from zero, e.g., z = -3) is far below the mean, which is a very rare occurrence in a normal distribution. Option a is incorrect because "worst" is subjective, not a statistical definition. Option b is wrong as negative z-scores are below the mean, not above. Option c is incorrect because extreme negative z-scores are infrequent. Option e is wrong because negative z-scores are entirely possible when raw scores are below the mean.

Answer:

d. is something that rarely occurs