Counselor Education Comprehensive Exam (CECE) Practice Exam

Which measure of central tendency indicates the most frequently occurring score?

1. Mean

2. Median

3. Mode

4. Skewness

The correct answer is: Mode

The mode is the measure of central tendency that indicates the most frequently occurring score in a data set. It identifies the value that appears most often, regardless of whether it is higher or lower than other values. This characteristic makes the mode particularly valuable in situations where the most common outcome is of interest, such as in surveys or categorical data analysis. In contrast, the mean represents the average of all scores, calculated by summing the scores and dividing by the number of scores. While the mean provides an overall view of the data, it does not specifically highlight the frequency of individual scores. The median represents the middle score when data is ordered, effectively dividing the data set into two equal halves, but like the mean, it does not reflect the most common score unless it coincidentally is the middle value. Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of the data distribution rather than a measure of central tendency. It indicates whether data points are skewed toward one end of the distribution, but it does not provide information about the frequency of specific scores. Therefore, mode is the correct choice as it directly addresses the question of which score occurs most frequently within the data set.