Mean is defined as which of the following?

• A. The statistical average of all the scores in a sample.
• B. The most frequent score in the distribution.
• C. The spread of scores around the mean.
• D. The lowest score in the data set.

Answer: (A)

Mean is a measure of central tendency that represents the average value of a set of numbers. It is found by adding all the scores and dividing by how many scores there are. This matches the idea of the statistical average of all the scores in a sample, making it the best description. The other options point to the mode (the most frequent value), dispersion around the mean (variance or standard deviation), and the minimum (the lowest value), none of which define the mean.