Z-Scores and Percentiles

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Objective

I can calculate z-scores and use them to determine percentiles in a normal distribution.

Part 1 of 4

Warm-up video

CrashCourse · 10:55Vetted channel

We don't generate video — this one is by CrashCourse on YouTube. The practice questions and exit ticket below were drafted by AI for this objective, and every question is editable in the teacher guide.

Part 2 of 4

Key concepts

3 concepts

  1. 1

    A z-score tells you how many standard deviations a data point is from the mean of its distribution.

  2. 2

    To calculate a z-score, you subtract the mean from the raw score and then divide by the standard deviation.

  3. 3

    Percentiles indicate the percentage of values in a distribution that fall below a specific score.

Part 3 of 4

Practice

7 questions

1

What is the purpose of using z-scores?

2

Explain in your own words how to calculate a z-score.

Part 4 of 4

Exit ticket

Quick comprehension check

A student scores 680 on the math portion of the SAT. If the mean score is 500 and the standard deviation is 100, what is the student's z-score? What percentile is associated with that z-score, assuming a standard normal distribution?

Sample answer included in the free materials

Get the materials

Teacher guide, student handout, and slides — free, in Google Docs format

  • Teacher Guide

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