What does the COUNTIF function do?

The COUNTIF function is designed specifically to count the number of cells within a designated range that satisfy a specified condition or criteria. This makes it particularly useful for situations where you need to determine how many entries meet specific requirements—such as counting how many times a particular value appears within a dataset or how many entries exceed a certain threshold.

For example, if you have a list of student grades and you want to find out how many students scored above a certain percentage, using COUNTIF will allow you to achieve that with ease. The function thus enhances data analysis by enabling users to focus on relevant data that meets defined criteria, allowing for deeper insights in a straightforward manner.

In contrast, while the other choices relate to cell counting or statistical functions, they do not capture the specific conditional aspect that COUNTIF offers.