Power

The power of a test is the probability it correctly rejects a false null hypothesis, equal to 1 minus the Type II error rate.

Power is a test's ability to detect a real effect when one truly exists. It equals 1β1 - \beta, where β\beta (the Greek letter beta) is the probability of a Type II error. For example, a test with power 0.80 has an 80% chance of rejecting the null hypothesis when the alternative is genuinely true. Power rises with a larger sample size, a bigger true effect, less variability, or a larger significance level α\alpha.

More hypothesis testing terms, or browse the full statistics glossary.