Z-Score

In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an

observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quan
tity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw
score and then dividing the difference by the population standard devia
tion. This conversion process is called standardizing or normalizing; however,
“normalizing” can refer to many types of ratios; see normalization (statistics)
for more.
The standard deviation is the unit of measurement of the z-score. It allows
comparison of observations from different normal distributions, which is
done frequently in research.
Standard scores are also called z-values, z-scores, normal scores, and standard
ized variables; the use of “Z” is because the normal distribution is also known
as the “Z distribution.” They are most frequently used to compare a sample
to a standard normal deviate (standard normal distribution, with μ = 0 and
σ = 1), although they can be defined without assumptions of normality.
The z-score is only defined if one knows the population parameters, as in
standardized testing; if one only has a sample set, then the analogous com
putation with sample mean and sample standard deviation yields Student’s
t statistic. Z-scores can be calculated using the following equation:
2
χµ
σ
=
−
z
where
z = score (unitless)
χ2 = chi-square value
σ = standard deviation
Example
You just completed a statistical review of your safety training pro
gram, which showed a mean score on the final examination of 79.2%
and a standard deviation of 8.3. One student scored 82.6%. Assuming a
standard distribution, how many students scored higher than this one
student on the examination?
Solution
82.6 79.2
8.3
=
−
z
3.4
8.3
z=
z = 0.41384
Safety Professional’s Reference and Study Guide
Now refer to Figure 13.21 and determine the area under the curve associ
ated with a z-score of 0.41. Begin with 0.4 under the z column, then go
over to Column 0.01 and the area beneath that represents a z-score of
0.41 is 0.6591.
To calculate the total number of persons taking the examination that
scored higher than 82.6%, we subtract the total area from the whole as
follows: 1 − 0.6591 = 0.3409; 0.3409×100 = 34.09%. Therefore,