MEASURES OF

VARIABILITY
Lesson 7
 2

OBJECTIVES

The student is expected to be able to:

1. define and discuss the meaning of standard
deviation; and
2. solve and interpret result of standard deviation of
ungrouped and grouped data.
3. discuss some applications of standard deviation;
4. interpret standard deviation value correctly;
5. convert data/scores in terms of z-score;
6. compare data from two or more set of data using
z-score.
 Standard Deviation
 It is defined as the average amount of variability in your
dataset. It tells us, on average, how far each value lies
from the mean.
 It is the most reliable and most commonly used
measure of variability.

Notation
sample standard deviation
population standard deviation
 Standard Deviation

A high standard deviation means that values are

generally far from the mean, while a low standard
deviation indicates that values are clustered close to
the mean.

 Standard deviation is a useful measure of spread for

normal distributions. In normal distributions, data is
symmetrically distributed with no skew.
Comparing different Standard
Deviation
The standard deviation
reflects the dispersion of
the distribution. The curve
with the lowest standard
deviation has a high peak
and a small spread, while
the curve with the highest
standard deviation is
flatter and more
widespread.
 The Normal Curve
Empirical Rule for Data with a Bell-Shaped Distribution
for data sets having a distribution that is
approximately bell-shaped, the following
properties apply.

The empirical rule, or the rule, tells us

where the values lie:

 Around of scores are within

standard deviations of the mean,
 Around of scores are within
standard deviations of the mean,

 Around of scores are within

standard deviations of the mean.
 Example. Standard deviation in a normal distribution
You administer a memory recall test to a group of
students. The data follows a normal distribution with a mean
score of and a standard deviation of .

Following the empirical rule:

 Around of scores are between and .

 Around of scores are between and .

 Around of scores are between and .

 Important Properties of Standard
Deviation
1. The standard deviation is a measure of how much data values
deviate away from the mean.

2. The value of the standard deviation s is never negative. It is

zero only when all of the data values are exactly the same.

3. Larger values of indicate greater amounts of variation.

4. The standard deviation can increase dramatically with one

or more outliers.
 Important Properties of Standard
Deviation
5. The units of the standard deviation (such as minutes, feet,
pounds) are the same as the units of the original data values.

6. The sample standard deviation is a biased estimator of

the population standard deviation , which means that values
of the sample standard deviation do not center around the
value of .
 Standard Deviation of
Ungrouped Data

where:
standard deviation
summation
each value in the raw data
mean of the set of data
total frequency/number of cases
frequency of a value
deviation of a value and the mean ;

Note: use formula if the values occur several times

 Standard Deviation of
Ungrouped Data
Example. Find the standard deviation of the scores
Solution: Using formula :

Compute the mean

Solve for the standard deviation

√ ∑ 2
( 𝑋 − 𝑋 )
Find using a table 𝑠=
𝑛 −1

¿
√ 84
8 − 1
𝒔 = √ 𝟏𝟐 =𝟑 . 𝟒𝟔
 Standard Deviation of
Ungrouped Data
Example. Find the standard deviation of the scores

Solution: Using formula : Solve for the standard deviation

√ 𝑛 (∑ 𝑋 ) − (∑ 𝑋
2
Determine and using a table
2
)
𝑠=
𝑛 ( 𝑛 −1)

√
2
8 ( 2396 ) − ( 136 )
¿
8 (8 −1)

𝑠=
√
19168 − 18496
56
=√ 12=𝟑 .𝟒

Therefore, the standard deviation of the scores is

 Standard Deviation of
Ungrouped Data
Example. Find the standard deviation of the following scores:
10 8 7 6 8 7 8 8 7 9 9 8 9 6 8 7 8 7

Solution: Since some scores are repeated, use formula

Find the frequency of each score

Find the mean.

𝑓 1 𝑋 1+ 𝑓 𝑋 2+ …+ 𝑓 𝑛 𝑋 𝑛
2
=
𝑛
1 ( 10 ) +3 ( 9 ) +7 ( 8 )+ 5 ( 7 ) +2 ( 6 )
𝑋= =7.8
18
 Standard Deviation of
Grouped Data

where:
standard deviation
Σ summation
frequency of a class interval
midpoint of a class interval
mean of the grouped data
total frequency/number of cases
 Standard Deviation of
Grouped Data
Example: Find the standard deviation of the given data
below:
 Standard Deviation of
Grouped Data
using the formula

Complete the frequency distribution and solve the mean. Complete the SD

𝒔=
√ ∑ 𝒇 𝑴2− 𝒏 𝑿
𝒏−1

𝒔 = 6.30
√ 23920 − ( 40 ) ( 23
40 − 1

Therefore, the standard deviation

is 6.30. It means that most of the
scores are between 17.35 and
29.95 .
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data
A. Classifying Data Set

a) If the standard deviation is small, the values are

concentrated near the mean.

Without computing for the standard deviation , it is apparent that

an of 2.0 is small. When an is small, scores tend to cluster
toward the mean. The distribution of scores tends to be
compressed toward the mean. It is said to be homogeneous. The
group tends to be of almost the same ability. The distribution is
called a leptokurtic distribution.
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data
A. Classifying Data Set

b) If the standard deviation is large, the values are widely

scattered about their mean.

Without computing for the SD, an SD of 30 is large. When the SD

is large, scores tend to spread away from the mean. The
distribution of scores tends to be expanded. It is said to be
heterogeneous. The class has different kinds of ability. The
distribution is called a platykurtic distribution.
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data
A. Classifying Data Set

c) If the standard deviation is moderately large, the

values are tend to spread evenly from the mean.

When the SD of the distribution is 12, it is moderately large.

Scores tend to spread evenly from the mean. The distribution of
scores tends to be symmetrical. It is said to be close to normal. A
normal distribution is called mesokurtic distribution because it is
similar to the normal curve which is symmetrical and bell-shaped.
.
Kinds of Data Sets as described by Standard Deviation
 The Normal Curve
Empirical Rule for Data with a Bell-Shaped Distribution
for data sets having a distribution that is
approximately bell-shaped, the following
properties apply.

The empirical rule, or the rule, tells us

where the values lie:

 Around of scores are within

standard deviations of the mean,
 Around of scores are within
standard deviations of the mean,

 Around of scores are within

standard deviations of the mean.
 Example. The scores of 40 students in a mathematics test are
observed
to be normally distributed. If the mean score is 27 and the
standard
deviation
a) About 68% is 8.55,or
of the students then it follows27
approximately that;
students got a score between
18.45 and 35.55

b) About 95% of the students or approximately 38 students got a score between 9.90 and
44.10

c) About 99.7% of the students or approximately 40 students got a score between

18.45
and 35.55
 Example. In an achievement test, the means and standard
deviations of
the scores of two groups are:

Interpretation: From the data, group A performed better than group

B
since the mean is higher, and group A is also more consistent
than group B or their scores are nearer to their mean as shown
by
their lesser standard deviation.
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data
B. Comparing Values Belonging to Different Sets

The standard deviation can also be used if one wants to

compare numbers belonging to different sets of data.
This can be done by converting these numbers into
standard units or z-scores. -score tells how many
standard deviations a value lies above (if is positive) or
below (if is negative) the mean of the set of data to
which it belongs.
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data
z-score
𝒙 − 𝑿
𝒛 =
𝒔

where:
standard unit or score
the number (or measurement belonging to a set of data,
say,
score, weight, height, etc.)
mean of the data
standard deviation of the data
 score in Science
z-score 9

Example: The table below shows the test- score in Mathematics

scores of Liza on three subjects, the mean,
𝒙− 𝑿 24 − 28
and the standard deviation of the scores of 𝒛
the= = =− 𝟏
section where she belongs. In which subject 𝒔 3 . 20
did she perform best? score in English

𝒙− 𝑿 30 − 26
𝒛= = =𝟎 .
𝒔 4 . 16
Lisa’s score in science is 1.29 standard
deviations above the average (or
mean score), her score in mathematics
is 1.25 standard deviations below the
average while her score in English is
0.96 standard deviation above the
mean
score of the class she belongs to. Thus,
she performed best in Science.
 z-score
Example: The table below shows the test-scores of students English,
determine the z-scores of Ana, Ben, and Carla.

Name Score
Ana 25
Ben 32
Carla 22

Ding 28
Ella 35
Francis 38
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data
C. Interpreting Teacher’s Performance

Standard deviation serves as the best measure to

evaluate teacher’s performance in teaching,
whether he is effective in employing a method in
teaching or not.
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data C. Interpreting Teacher’s Performance

Example: The table below presents the test results of Grade 5 in

Mathematics
where three (3) teachers taught using their own methods of
teaching.
Who among the three teachers is the most effective in reducing
the
disparity between good and poor performers?
 Uses of Standard Deviation
Data C. Interpreting Teacher’s Performance

Section C performed the POOREST

among the three sections, having
obtained the lowest mean (X ̅ =30.55).
Section C had the lowest standard
deviation (s = 3.34). This implies that
Section C is a homogeneous (almost
the same ability) class. The teacher in
Interpretation:
this case successfully closed the gap
Section A performed the BEST among the between good and poor performers in a
three sections having obtained the highest particular test.
mean . Section A obtained the highest The teacher who taught Mathematics to
standard deviation . This implies that Section C is the most effective in
differentiation of abilities is pronounced reducing the disparity between good
(heterogeneous). The teacher in this case students and poor students.
failed to reduce differentiations among the
individual students in that class.
THANK YOU