Essay

Analyze the implications of a classifier exhibiting 15% bias and 1% variance.

Question: Given a classifier with an estimated bias of 15% and a variance of 1%, analyze its performance on the training and dev sets. Explain what these error rates indicate about the algorithm's state.

Sample answer: A classifier with 15% bias and 1% variance is fitting the training set poorly (15% error), meaning it is not capturing the underlying patterns of the data well. However, its error on the dev set is barely higher than the training error, as indicated by the low 1% variance. This combination indicates that the model has high bias but low variance, a condition which is commonly referred to as underfitting.

Key points:

  • 15% bias indicates poor performance on the training set.
  • 1% variance means dev set error is barely higher than training error.
  • The classifier has high bias and low variance.
  • This condition is known as underfitting.

Rubric: The essay should correctly identify the model's performance on both sets and conclude that the model is underfitting due to high bias and low variance.

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Updated 2026-06-13

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