Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
Sum of Squared Errors (SSE) measures the total deviation of observed values from the values predicted by a regression model. It is calculated by summing the squared differences between observed and predicted values.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
SSE is used to assess the fit of a regression model; lower SSE indicates a better fit.
The formula for SSE is $$ \sum_{i=1}^{n} (y_i - \hat{y}_i)^2 $$, where $y_i$ are the observed values and $\hat{y}_i$ are the predicted values.
SSE is always non-negative because it sums squared terms.
It plays a crucial role in calculating other key statistics, such as Mean Squared Error (MSE) and R-squared.
SSE can be compared across different models to determine which one better fits the data.
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Related terms
Mean Squared Error (MSE): Mean Squared Error (MSE) is the average of the squared differences between observed and predicted values. It is calculated as $$ MSE = \frac{SSE}{n} $$, where $n$ is the number of observations.
$R^2$ (R-squared) measures the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is predictable from the independent variables. It ranges from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating better model fit.