In standard terminology, this is the "root mean squared error" (RMSE)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_squared_error

A useful way to think about and calculate this quantity is
=SQRT(VARP(data)+(AVERAGE(data)-goal)^2)

Jerry

"Victoria" wrote:

I've been asked to determine what the standard deviation is from a goal for
52 values. I know that technically speaking, standard deviation is from the
mean however I need to calculate it from the goal. Is there a formula or
string of formulas I can use?
Thank you.
Victoria