When assessing variability, which statistic is most often used in conjunction with the mean?

The standard deviation is the statistic most commonly used in conjunction with the mean when assessing variability in a data set. This is because the standard deviation quantifies the amount of variation or spread in a set of values relative to the mean.

When you calculate the mean, you obtain a measure of central tendency, which indicates the average score or value. However, the mean alone does not provide insight into how dispersed the values are around that average. The standard deviation complements the mean by offering a clear indication of how much individual data points typically deviate from the mean. A smaller standard deviation suggests that the data points are closely clustered around the mean, while a larger standard deviation indicates that they are spread out over a wider range of values.

In contrast, while the mode, median, and range can provide useful information about a data set, they do not relate to the mean in the same way. The mode identifies the most frequently occurring value, the median indicates the middle value in a sorted list, and the range gives a measure of total spread by subtracting the lowest value from the highest. However, none of these statistics directly measure the “average” deviation from the mean like the standard deviation does, which makes it the standard choice for assessing variability alongside the