Question

standard deviation
mrs. rodrigues wants to compare the spread of the test scores of her two biology classes.
which statistic should she use?
standard deviation
median
mode
mean

Explanation:

To determine the statistic for comparing the spread of data (test scores), we analyze each option:

• Standard deviation: Measures the amount of variation or spread in a set of data. A higher standard deviation means more spread - out data, and a lower one means data is more clustered. This is ideal for comparing spread.
• Median: The middle value of a dataset when ordered. It measures central tendency, not spread.
• Mode: The most frequently occurring value. It also measures central tendency, not spread.
• Mean: The average value. It is a measure of central tendency, not spread.

Since we need to compare the spread of test scores, standard deviation is the appropriate statistic.

Answer:

standard deviation