How is the median found when data are arranged in order?

• A. The sum of the numbers divided by the count
• B. Put all numbers in numerical order; odd: middle; even: average of the two middles
• C. The most frequently occurring score
• D. The difference between largest and smallest

Answer: (B)

The median is the middle value when data are ordered from smallest to largest. If the count is odd, the single value in the middle is the median. If the count is even, there isn’t a single middle value, so you average the two middle numbers to get the median. For example, ordered data 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 has a median of 3. Ordered data 1, 2, 3, 4 has middle values 2 and 3, whose average is 2.5. This measure focuses on the central tendency without being swayed by extremely high or low values, unlike the mean, and it’s not about frequency (mode) or spread (range).