Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Mathematics Practice Exam

What does the median represent in a data set?

1. The highest value

2. The middle value

3. The average of all values

4. The most frequently occurring value

The correct answer is: The middle value

The median is a crucial measure of central tendency in a data set that indicates the middle value when the numbers are arranged in order. To find the median, you first sort the data; if there is an odd number of observations, the median is the middle one. If there is an even number of observations, the median is the average of the two middle numbers. This makes the median particularly useful for understanding the distribution of values in a dataset, especially when it contains outliers that might skew the average. Unlike options that refer to the highest value, the average (mean), or the most frequently occurring value (mode), the median strictly focuses on the position of values in the ordered list. Thus, the median serves as a robust indicator of the dataset's center by reflecting the typical value without being influenced by extreme values.