the following scores were recorded on a 200-point final wxam 193,185,186,192,135,158,174,188,172,168,183,195,165,183. what is the mean please and is the mean or the median mor improtant for this

Question

Please see the other posts to figure out how to find the mean.

Since these are grades on an exam, most teachers use the mean (average) to determine the curve. The median is not important for this.

ƒÊ = (ƒ°X)/N, where ƒÊ is the mean, ƒ° is a math symbol telling you to add whatever follows, X = raw scores and N = number of scores.

For a normally distributed distribution, the mean is the best measure of central tendency. The mean acts as a "balance point" for the distribution.

However, when the distribution is skewed (pulled out at either one end or the other), then the mean is unduly displaced by extremely deviant scores. In this case, the median (50th percentile) would be the best measure to use.

This can be easily seen with a simple distribution of scores: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 30. The mean would be 8, while the median would be 3. Since both are meeasures of central tendency, which do you think would be the best indicator?

To see if the distribution is skewed, you can plot the scores out by using a frequency distribution or a bar diagram.

I hope this helps a little more. Thanks for asking.