What does the median represent in a dataset?

The median represents the middle value in a dataset when the values are arranged in either ascending or descending order. It serves as a measure of central tendency, providing an indication of the distribution of values in the dataset.

To find the median, you first need to sort the data points. If the number of observations is odd, the median is the value located at the center of the ordered dataset. If there is an even number of observations, the median is calculated by taking the average of the two middle values. This property of the median makes it particularly useful in statistics, as it is less affected by outliers and skewed data than the mean.

Understanding the concept of median is essential for analyzing data, as it helps provide insights into the typical value of a dataset without being influenced by extreme values. The other choices pertain to different statistical measures: the most frequently occurring value refers to the mode, the highest value indicates the maximum, and the sum of all values describes the total of the dataset.