Statistical Measures: Mean, Median, and Mode
SAT Math — Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability
Essential SAT Topic • Appears in 2–4 questions per test
Why This Matters on the SAT
The SAT tests your ability to analyze data sets using measures of center: mean, median, and mode. You'll need to calculate them, understand how they change when data changes, and know which measure best describes a data set. This lesson covers every angle the SAT can test.
📖 Key Vocabulary
- Mean — arithmetic average
- Median — middle value
- Mode — most frequent value
- Outlier — extreme value far from others
- Skewed — data bunched to one side
- Symmetric — data balanced around center
- Frequency — how often a value appears
- Weighted Mean — mean accounting for frequencies
- Unimodal — one mode
- Bimodal — two modes
- Resistant Measure — not affected by outliers (median)
- Sensitive Measure — affected by outliers (mean)
- Cumulative Frequency — running total of frequencies