Statistics
Confusing the Median Position with the Median Value
Reporting the middle position number as the median instead of the value found there.
Quick check
Why students make it
Finding the median starts by locating the middle position, and it is easy to stop there and read off the count instead of the data value.
The rule done right
Order the data first, then the median is the value at the middle position, not the position number. With an even count, average the two middle values.
Related resources
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Descriptive Statistics Infographic -
Statistics: Measures of Center vs Spread Infographic -
Statistics: Computing Quartiles and the IQR Infographic -
Dot Plots and Stem-and-Leaf Plots Infographic -
Statistics: Data Tables and Summary Statistics Infographic - How to tell mode and median apart Memory Aid Cheat Sheet
- Mean, Median, Mode & Range Cheat Sheet
- Five-Number Summary & Box Plot Reference Cheat Sheet
- Descriptive Statistics Cheat Sheet
- Quartiles, Percentiles & IQR Cheat Sheet
- Statistics: How to Tell Mode and Median Apart Practice Worksheet
- Statistics: Descriptive Statistics Worksheet
- Statistics: Descriptive Statistics (High School) Worksheet
- Statistics: Measures of Center and Spread Worksheet
- Statistics: Box-and-Whisker Plots Worksheet
- Mean, Median & Mode Explorer Tool
- Descriptive Statistics Calculator Tool
- Box Plot Builder Tool
- Percentile Calculator Tool
- Mean, Median & Mode Lab Lab
- Exploratory Data & Distribution Lab Lab
- Line Plot & Fraction Data Lab Lab