Kyle and Ryan take entrance exams at two different universities. Kyle scores a 476 on an exam with a mean of 380 and a standard deviation of 68 , while Ryan scores a 38 on an exam with a mean of 25 and a standard deviation of.4.5. Which do you think is more likely to be accepted at the university of his choice? Kyle Ryan
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To determine who is more likely to be accepted based on their scores, we can look at their z-scores. For Kyle, the z-score is calculated as (Score - Mean) / Standard Deviation, which translates to (476 - 380) / 68 = 1.41. For Ryan, the z-score is (38 - 25) / 4.5 = 2.89. A higher z-score indicates a performance farther above average in a standardized context, so based on this calculation, Ryan is the one who potentially stands out more with his z-score of 2.89 compared to Kyle's 1.41. Additionally, when comparing scores across different scales and distributions, z-scores help level the playing field. Ryan's high z-score suggests that he performed exceptionally well relative to his exam's scoring distribution. Therefore, even if raw scores can be tempting to compare directly, understanding the context behind them can reveal a lot about a candidate's performance.