How to average the top N scores (drop the lowest)
✓ Verified in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3Best-3-of-5 grading, top-scores averages, drop-the-worst policies.
The formula
| App | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Excel | =AVERAGE(LARGE(A2:A6,{1,2,3})) | The {1,2,3} array asks LARGE for the top three at once. Change to match your N. |
| Google Sheets | =AVERAGE(LARGE(A2:A6,{1,2,3})) | Identical. |
| LibreOffice Calc | =AVERAGE(LARGE(A2:A6,{1,2,3})) | Identical. |
How it works
LARGE with the array constant {1,2,3} returns the three best values (95, 90, 85), and AVERAGE collapses them: 90. The complementary drop-the-lowest phrasing is arithmetic instead: =(SUM(range)-MIN(range))/(COUNT(range)-1) drops exactly one worst score. SMALL with the same array pattern averages the bottom N, and SUMPRODUCT(LARGE(range,{1,2,3})) is the total-of-best-3 variant already in the sum-top-n recipe.
Verified, not just documented
We ran =AVERAGE(LARGE(A2:A6,{1,2,3})) in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3 (headless, with forced recalculation) and it returned 90 — exactly the expected result. Every formula here is confirmed by actually executing it.