Standard Deviation - Free Excel Practice Online

This free, interactive exercise teaches you Standard Deviation in Excel through 6 hands-on steps. Instead of watching a video, you type the real formula into a live spreadsheet grid and get instant feedback on every answer. It is part of the Statistical Functions track and works right in your browser - no Excel install, no download, and no signup.

Practising Standard Deviation this way builds the muscle memory that transfers straight to using Excel at work, in interviews, or for certification prep. Work through the steps above, then keep going with the next lesson to build a complete, free Excel practice course.

What you'll practice in this Standard Deviation lesson

1. Five scores sit in B2:B6. First get the centre: =AVERAGE(B2:B6). - 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 average to 14. Standard deviation measures how far the scores sit from this number.
2. These five are a sample of a larger class. Sample standard deviation: =STDEV.S(B2:B6). - STDEV.S divides by n−1 (here 4). Use this whenever the range is a sample, which is almost always. The older name STDEV does the same thing.
3. If these five scores are the whole group, use the population function: =STDEV.P(B2:B6). - STDEV.P divides by n (5), so the result is a bit smaller than STDEV.S. Only use it when the range really is the entire population.
4. Spread also has a simple top: the highest score. =MAX(B2:B6). - MAX is 18. AVERAGE + STDEV together describe the set better than MAX alone — two classes can share a max of 18 and have very different scatter.
5. A tight class: 13, 14, 14, 15, 14. Sample standard deviation: =STDEV.S(B2:B6). - These scores hug 14. STDEV.S comes out near 0.7 — much smaller than the 3.16 on the spread-out set. Same average-ish centre, very different consistency.
6. The old name still works. Type =STDEV(B2:B6) — it is the same as STDEV.S. - STDEV is the compatibility name for STDEV.S. Prefer STDEV.S in new work so a reader can see you meant the sample formula.

Standard Deviation practice - FAQ