Counselor Education Comprehensive Exam (CECE) Practice Exam

Which of the following is NOT a measure of central tendency?

1. Mean

2. Median

3. Mode

4. Skewness

The correct answer is: Skewness

Skewness is indeed not a measure of central tendency. Measures of central tendency are statistical measures that aim to describe the center point or typical value of a dataset. The mean, median, and mode serve this purpose: - The mean is the average of all the values in a dataset, calculated by adding them all together and dividing by the number of values. - The median is the middle value when all the numbers are arranged in order, providing a measure that is less affected by outliers. - The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset, highlighting the most common value. In contrast, skewness refers to the degree of asymmetry or departure from symmetry in the distribution of data. It provides insight into whether a distribution leans to the left or right, indicating how data points are spread around the central value rather than focusing on the central value itself. Therefore, skewness does not belong to the category of measures of central tendency.