Mean, Median & Statistics on the SAT with Desmos
Desmos has built-in statistics functions. Type your data into a list and call mean(), median(), or stdev() for an instant answer.
Step by step
- 1
Type the data as a list
On one line, name a list and enter the numbers in brackets — e.g. L = [4, 8, 6, 10, 7]. Order doesn't matter.
- 2
Call mean(L)
On a new line type mean(L) and Desmos returns the average instantly.
- 3
Call median(L)
Type median(L) for the middle value — Desmos sorts the list for you, so you don't have to.
- 4
Other built-ins
stdev(L) for standard deviation, total(L) for the sum, length(L) for how many values.
- 5
Answer the question
Read the value Desmos prints — no adding or sorting by hand.
Pro tip
For a frequency table (a value plus how many times it appears), just repeat values in the list — e.g. [5, 5, 5, 8, 8] for three 5s and two 8s — and mean() / median() still work.
Try it yourself
Work the example right here in a live Desmos calculator — no Bluebook needed.
Data set: 4, 8, 6, 10, 7. What is the median?
Edit the list and watch mean and median update instantly.
Loading interactive calculator…
Show the answer
Answer: 7
Type L = [4, 8, 6, 10, 7] then median(L) → 7. (Sorted: 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 — the middle value is 7.)
Put the trick to work on a real test
Full-length adaptive SAT mocks · real Bluebook-style timing · detailed score reports