What does a high standard deviation indicate about a dataset?

A high standard deviation signifies that the scores in a dataset exhibit significant variability and are spread out over a wider range. This measure quantifies how much the individual data points differ from the mean of the dataset. When the standard deviation is high, it suggests that there are large differences between scores, indicating that some values are much higher or lower than the average. This contrast helps in understanding the distribution of data, especially when comparing datasets; a high standard deviation typically indicates a diverse set of values.

In contrast, a low standard deviation would indicate that the scores are clustered closely around the mean, suggesting less variability. The other options do not accurately depict the implications of a high standard deviation. For instance, identical scores would yield a standard deviation of zero—not a high value—while having an equal count of scores doesn't inherently indicate variability or distribution characteristics.