APA Dictionary of Psychology

a statistical method for determining whether there is homogeneity of variance across two or more populations. The test, which uses the absolute values of the deviations of scores from the median to calculate variance, is a helpful preliminary step in determining whether the required assumptions have been met for certain statistical procedures, such as analysis of variance. [Morton B. Brown, Canadian-born U.S. statistician; Alan B. Forsythe, U.S. statistician]