2.2 Writing about the range

When learners are asked to ‘find the range’, they often respond – quite understandably – with the limits of a data set, for instance by writing ‘15 – 19’ rather than ‘4’. Some curricula prefer showing the range as an interval.

Learners may also get mixed up with how to interpret and write about the range in full sentences. For example, when the range increases, the consistency decreases (and vice versa). You might help here by being clear and careful with your language, or by introducing other words such as ‘spread’ or ‘variability’.

Figure 13 Synonyms for spread