How to Average Text and TRUE/FALSE with AVERAGEA

AVERAGEA counts TRUE as 1 and text or FALSE as 0 — perfect for completion rates and “absent counts as zero” averages.

You will learn to

• Turn a TRUE/FALSE column into a completion rate
• Average a two-column checklist
• Measure how “absent” entries change an average

How it works

AVERAGE ignores text and TRUE/FALSE values in a range. AVERAGEA includes them: TRUE counts as 1, FALSE as 0, and any text (such as "Absent") as 0. Empty cells are still skipped.

That makes AVERAGEA a one-step completion rate for TRUE/FALSE checklists, and the right average when a text entry genuinely means “scored zero”. If text means “no data”, use AVERAGE instead — the choice changes the answer, so decide what the text really means.

=AVERAGEA(B2:B11)