A z-table shows the percentage or probability of values that fall below a given

z-score in a standard normal distribution. A z-score shows how many standard

deviations a certain value is from the mean in a distribution. Here’s how to use
a z-table and interpret a z-score for your data.

HOW TO USE A Z-TABLE

To use a z-table, first turn your data into a normal distribution and calculate
the z-score for a given value. Then, find the matching z-score on the left side of
the z-table and align it with the z-score at the top of the z-table. The result
gives you the probability.

What Is a Z-Score?
A z-score, or a standard score, tells how many standard deviations a given
value is from the mean value in a distribution. The standard deviation is a
measure of how data points are dispersed in relation to the mean. Z-scores can
be used with any distribution, but are often the most informative when
applied to a symmetric, normal distribution (known as a bell curve or
Gaussian distribution).

HOW TO CALCULATE Z-SCORE

The z-score formula is as follows:

HOW TO INTERPRET Z-SCORE

If a z-score is positive, the observed value is above the mean. If a z-score is

negative, the value is below the mean. If a z-score is 0, the value is equal to the
mean. For example, a z-score of 1.0 shows that the value is one standard
deviation above the mean, while a z-score of -1.0 shows the value is one
standard deviation below the mean.

Sir Santos
What Is a Z-Table?
A z-table, or standard normal table, tells the percentage of values that are less
than a given z-score. This percentage also represents the probability of a value
falling within the area to the left of a z-score in a standard normal
distribution.

Z-tables can be positive or negative. A positive z-table is used when a z-score is

positive, while a negative z-table is used when a z-score is negative.

How to Use a Z-Table (With Example)

To explain how to use a z-table, let’s apply an example. Imagine a scenario
where we compare the test results from two students, Zoe and Mike. Zoe took
the ACT and scored a 25, while Mike took the SAT and scored 1150. Both of
these scores are represented as normal distributions. Which of the test takers
scored better? And what proportion of people scored worse than Zoe and
Mike?

ACT and SAT

score means and normal distributions. Note, these aren’t the actual score means and distribution
in real life. | Image: Michael Galarnyk

1. CALCULATE Z-SCORE

To answer the above questions, we have to first use the z-score formula to
calculate z-scores for Zoe and Mike.

Sir Santos
From these results, Zoe has a higher z-score than Mike. As such, Zoe
performed better on her test.Additionally, these test scores started as normal
distributions, so finding their z-scores also converts them into standard
normal distributions, where the mean is 0 and the standard deviation is 1
(N(mean = 0, std = 1)).

2. USE THE Z-SCORE TO FIND PROBABILITY ON A

Z-TABLE
While we know that Zoe performed better than Mike because of her higher z-
score, a z-table can tell you in what percentile each of the test takers are in. We
will use a positive z-table since both Zoe’s and Mike’s z-scores are positive and
greater than the mean value of 0. The following partial z-table — cut off to
save space — can tell you the area underneath the curve to the left of our z-
score. This is the percentage of students that scored less than Zoe or Mike.
The table entries for z is the area under the standard normal curve to the left
of z. (Red: Mike; Blue: Zoe).

3. FIND ZOE’S Z-SCORE PROBABILITY

To use the z-table, start on the left side of the table and go down to 1.2. At the
top of the table, go to 0.05. This corresponds to the value of 1.2 + .05 =
1.25. The value in the table is .8944 which is the probability. Roughly 89.44

percent of people scored worse than Zoe on the ACT.

4. FIND MIKE’S Z-SCORE PROBABILITY

Mike’s z-score was 1.0. To use the z-table, start on the left side of the table and
go down to 1.0. Now at the top of the table, go to 0.00. This corresponds to the
value of 1.0 + .00 = 1.00. The value in the table is .8413, which is the
probability. Roughly 84.13 percent of people scored worse than Mike on the
SAT.

HOW TO READ A Z-TABLE

1. Take the whole number before the decimal point and the first digit after
the decimal point of the z-score, and find this value on the left-most
column of the z-table.
2. Take the second digit after the decimal point of the z-score, and find this
value on the top row of the z-table.
3. Go to the intersection of the values found in steps 1 and 2 — the number
shown at this intersection is the z-score probability.
Sir Santos