AI engineering glossary · Statistics inference
What is test statistic?
Test statistic: A single number computed from sample data that summarises how far the result lies from what the null hypothesis predicts, scaled by the expected noise. Its position in a known reference distribution yields the p-value.
Test statistic: an example
A t statistic of 2.5 means the observed average is 2.5 standard errors from the claimed value.
Related terms
More Statistics inference terms
- Two-sample t-test
- Type I error
- Type II error
- Unbiased estimator
- Welch's t-test
- Wilcoxon signed-rank test
- Z-test
- A/B test
Where you learn it
Test statistic is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.