What does the range measure in a data set?

The range is a measure of statistical dispersion that specifically indicates the extent of variability within a data set. It is calculated by taking the difference between the highest score (the maximum value) and the lowest score (the minimum value) in that set. This measure provides a simple overview of how spread out the data points are, giving an immediate sense of the overall width of the data distribution.

Unlike other measures such as the average, which sums all scores and divides by the number of scores, or the middle score, which describes a specific percentile of the data, the range focuses solely on the extreme values. It does not consider how many data points lie between the highest and lowest values or how they are distributed, making it a straightforward but sometimes limited measure of variability. Understanding the range can help in assessing the potential spread and variability of the data, particularly in a quick analysis where detailed insights into the distribution are not required.