Calculate and use the mean (average): add all values to find the total, count the values, then divide the total by the count. Use the same equal-sharing idea to reason about changes to every value and to work backwards from a known mean.
Where your child meets this in real life: Calculating average scores, average speed, or average cost per item
Each SEAG paper has 28 maths questions. Questions 29 to 50 are multiple choice with five possible answers, and questions 51 to 56 need a short written answer. With 56 questions in 60 minutes across English and maths, that is about a minute per question.
SEAGReady breaks calculate the mean into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Calculate the mean of 3-4 small numbers using the three-step procedure: add, count, divide
Calculate the mean of 5-7 values accurately and reason about how the mean changes when every value changes by the same amount
Find a missing value in a data set when given the mean and all other values
Try three free questions from our calculate the mean course. They start easy and get harder, so you can see where your child's confidence runs out. If they manage the last one without a hint, this topic is probably secure. If not, the steps above show where to start.
Sean's goals in his last three football matches are shown. What is his mean score per match?
The table shows the loaves of bread a bakery sold over five days. What was the mean number sold per day?
A cricket team's mean score over six matches was 42 runs. What did they score in match 6?
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Sarah scored 4, 7, and 10 goals in her last three hockey matches.
What is her mean score per match?
Mean of 4, 7, 10
Add the three scores together
4 + 7 + 10 = 21
Step 1 of 3
Sarah scored 4, 7, and 10 goals in her last three hockey matches.
What is her mean score per match?
Sarah's mean score is 7 goals per match.
The key insight: The mean is like sharing equally - if Sarah scored the same in each match, it would be 7!
Common mix-up: 21 ÷ 21 = 1. You divide by the count (how many values), not by the total.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in calculate the mean, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with calculate the mean? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
Sitting the SEAG test this November? Read our last-month revision plan, Paper 1 vs Paper 2 and test day guide.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
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