Assessment in Learning 1

MODULE 6
STANDARD SCORES
I. Objectives:

1. Convert raw scores to standard scores: z-scores and T-scores

2. Illustrate graphically the --
a) standard deviation of a normal distribution, the 68-95-99.7 rule;
b) The s-cores and
c) T-scores

II. Anticipatory Set

Take note of the following points to remember about the measures of central tendency and
variability, the topics of Module 5.
Measures of Central Tendency
 The statistics that represent the typical, or average or middle, score of a group of scores. The
mode is simply the most frequently occurring score in a distribution.
 A very simple way of identifying the typical score is to pick the one that occurs most frequently.
This score is called the mode and corresponds to the highest point in the frequency polygon.
 A much more useful way of representing the typical, or average, score is to find the value on the
score scale that separates the top half of the group from the bottom half. This value is called
the median.
 The mean is the arithmetical average of a set of scores. It is obtained by adding all the scores in
a distribution and dividing the sum by the number of scores.
Measures of Variability
 Measures of variability are used to show the differences among the scores in a distribution.
The term variability or dispersion is used because the statistics provide an indication of how
different, or dispersed, the scores are from one another.
 The range is the crudest measure of variability. It is the difference between the highest and
the lowest scores in a distribution.
 The standard deviation as a measure of variability is the numerical index that indicates average
dispersion or spread of scores around the mean.
 The nearer the value of the standard deviation to zero, the more homogeneous the
observations (raw scores) are; conversely, the bigger the standard deviation, the more
heterogenous the observations are.

III. Lesson Proper

A. The Standard Deviation of a Normal Distribution

The total area under the normal curve represents all the observations in a normal
distribution. In such a curve, the mean, median and mode are identical, so that the mean
falls at the exact center of the curve. It thus is also the most frequent observation in the
distribution. Because the curve is symmetrical, 50 percent of the observations must fall on
each side of the mean.
Here are some important facts about the normal distribution:
1. Fifty percent of all the observations (e.g. ages of respondents) fall on each side of
the mean.
2. In any normal distribution, 68 percent of the observations fall within one standard
deviation of the mean, half of these (34 percent) fall within one standard deviation
away from the mean and the other half within one standard deviation below the
mean.
3. Another 27 percent of the observations fall between one and two standard
deviations away from the mean. Hence 95 percent (68 percent plus 27 percent) fall
within two standard deviations of the mean.
4. In all. 99.7 percent of the observations fall within three standard deviations of the
mean. [The 68-95-99.7 rule]

B. The z-score and the Normal Curve

The simplest form of standard score is the z score. It expresses how far an
observation is from the mean in standard deviation units. A raw data (observation)
that is exactly on the mean correspondents to a z score of zero. A raw data that is
exactly one standard deviation above the mean equals a z score of +1, while a raw
data that is exactly one standard deviation below the mean equals a z score of -1.
Similarly, a raw data that is exactly two standard deviations above the mean equals
a z score of +2, and so forth. One z, therefore, equals one standard deviation (1z =
1SD), 2z = 2Sd, -0.5z = -0.5 SD, and so on.

Calculation of the z-Score

After the mean and standard deviation are calculated for a set of scores, it is easy to
convert each raw score to a z-score, which then indicates exactly where each score
lies in the normal distribution.
The formula for calculating a z-score is:
Raw score -- Mean
Standard Deviation

C. T-Score

One limitation of using z-scores is the necessity for being careful with the negative
sign and with the decimal point. To avoid these problems, other standard scores
are used by converting the z-scores algebraically to different units. The general
formula for converting z-scores is

A = MeanA + sA (z)
where A is the new standard score equivalent to z
MeanA is the mean for the new standard-score scale.
sA is the standard deviation for the new standard-score scale,
z is the s-score for any observation.
 For T-scores, which are very common, MeanA = 50 and sA = 10. The equation for
converting z-scores to T-scores is thus:

T = 50 + 10(z).

For example, the T=scores for the given raw scores below would be:

For the raw score of 20: T = 50 + 10 (2.02 = 70.2

For the raw score of 14: T = 50 + 10 (0.29) = 52.9.
For the raw score of 10: T = 50 + 10 (-0.87) = 41.3.

The important thing to remember is that all standard scores are based on the
normal distribution. Consequently, if a set of raw scores is distributed abnormally,
conversion to standard scores may bias the results or be misleading.

D. Probability and z-Score

Another important characteristic of the normal distribution is that the percentages
associated with areas under the normal curve can be thought of as probabilities. A
probability is a percent stated in decimal form and refers to the likelihood of an
event occurring. For example, if there is a probability that an event will occur 25
percent of the time, this event can be said to have a probability of .25. Similarly, an
event that will probably occur 90 percent of the time is said to have a probability of
.90. More discussion of probabilities will come later in the course.

I. Application: Do exercise M-5 (Optional)

EXERCISE M-6
Refer to any book in statistics and illustrate graphically:
A. The standard deviation of a normal distribution, the 68-95-99.7 rule;
B. The z score and the normal curve; and
C. probability and z-score. [Three graphical illustrations].
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Frajenkin 04-21-22