Which statement about central tendency for skewed distributions is true?

• A. The median is preferred for skewed data.
• B. The mean is preferred for skewed data.
• C. The mode is preferred for skewed data.
• D. The range is preferred for skewed data.

Answer: (A)

In skewed distributions, extreme values on one side pull the mean toward that tail, so it often doesn’t reflect where most observations lie. The median, being the middle value, stays put near the center of the data even with outliers or a long tail, making it a more reliable summary of the typical case. The mean’s sensitivity to outliers can give a distorted sense of central tendency in skewed data, while the mode only reflects the most frequent value and can be uninformative when data are continuous or lack a clear peak. The range describes spread, not central tendency, so it doesn’t tell you where most data are centered. For these reasons, the median is the best choice for describing central tendency in skewed distributions.