Which distribution is characterized by a long tail toward higher scores?

• A. Negatively skewed
• B. Skewed
• C. Normal
• D. Positively skewed

Answer: (D)

Skewness describes how data are stretched to one side. A long tail toward higher scores means the right side of the distribution extends farther than the left—that’s called positive skewness. This happens when most scores pile up at the lower end while a few very high scores pull the average upward. In this situation the mean tends to be greater than the median, and the mode sits at the left peak. The other shapes don’t fit: a long tail toward lower scores is negative skewness; a symmetrical bell shape is normal; and simply calling it skewed doesn’t specify the direction.