Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Mathematics Practice Exam 2026 - Free Practice Questions and Study Guide

The measure of dispersion refers to the extent to which the values in a data set differ from each other or from a central value (such as the mean). This concept provides insight into the distribution and variability within the data, indicating whether the data points are closely clustered together or widely scattered. Common measures of dispersion include range, variance, and standard deviation, all of which quantify how much the data varies.

In this context, understanding dispersion is crucial because it helps reveal patterns or trends in the data that the central tendency measures (like the average) alone cannot provide. For example, two data sets can have the same average but can be very different in terms of how spread out their values are. Thus, identifying the spread gives a fuller picture of the data's behavior and characteristics.