Final answer:
The sample standard deviation measures variability within a set of scores, with a value of 12 points indicating the average spread of the scores around the mean of 56. The standard error, calculated as 3 points, indicates the average amount the sample mean is likely to differ from the true population mean due to sampling variability.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sample standard deviation describes the variability of a set of scores. In this case, the standard deviation is s=12, which means that on average, the individual scores in this sample vary by 12 points from the mean (m=56). The standard error provides a measure of how much the sample mean is expected to vary from one sample to another—the sampling variability of the statistic. To compute the estimated standard error, you would use the formula:
Standard Error = s / √n
Where s is the sample standard deviation and n is the sample size. Substituting the given values (s=12 and n=16), the calculation is:
Standard Error = 12 / √16 = 12 / 4 = 3
So, the estimated standard error for the sample mean is 3 points. This number (3 points) is an estimation of how much the sample mean of this particular sample is expected to differ from the true population mean if we repeated the sampling process many times.