Reference no: EM133974237

Assignment:

A recent report indicated that, "On average (mean), adolescents begin experimenting with drugs at the age of 13 years." This information is used to determine which grade level to begin a drug abuse resistance program, similar to the DARE program. Consistent with this finding the police department you work for decides to implement the drug abuse resistance program for 13 year old children, or in the eighth grade.

You believe, based on your experience as a school resource officer in the elementary schools, that this is too old and that the program should be started earlier. Specifically, your experience teaches you that pressure to experiment with drugs appears to start in the sixth grade, or about 11 years old.

As you prepare to meet with the chief of police you again review the report. In it you find that the mean average age of onset is 13, but that the median age of onset is 11. Based solely on what you have learned about the meaning, advantages and disadvantages of the three measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode) develop a recommendation to begin the drug abuse resistance program during the sixth grade. In other words, present an argument that in this case the median is a more reliable measure of central tendency than the mean.