WPM / Averages Grade Level

Typing.com was built to accommodate typists of all ages and skill levels, so although your approach to teaching will be tailored to the age and ability of your students, we encourage you to use this information as a guide.

These figures are guidance for planning, not settings in the product. Typing.com ships no per-grade speed or accuracy targets: if you want to hold a class to a minimum, you type it in yourself on the Grading tab - see Can I Set/Change Typing Benchmarks?

While learning to type...

It has been found that practicing regularly in short bursts is more effective than a few longer training sessions.  Over-training can result in decreasing alertness and a lack of proper technique (in other words, you get bored and make mistakes).  Our training combines rote learning to memorize the keyboard layout and motor learning to build muscle memory in your fingers through repetition.  The ultimate goal is to build long-term muscle memory, allowing you to type with minimal conscious effort.

What about speed...

It is more important to focus on accuracy rather than speed in the beginning.  Speed will come with practice.  The time you gain by going fast is negated if you need to go back and fix errors.  Speed can vary among people in the same age group due to several factors like prior keyboarding experience, motor skills, training time, etc.

The speed chart below outlines the average speeds for student and adult typists.

• Kindergarten: 2-5 WPM

• 1st Grade: 5-7 WPM

• 2nd Grade: 7-10 WPM

• Elementary School (3rd-5th grade): 8-20 WPM

• Middle School (6th-8th grade): 20-30 WPM

• High School (9th-12th grade): 30-40 WPM

• College/Adult: 40+ WPM

Setting the bar on Accuracy...

Typing.com works out your error rate, rounds it to a whole percent and subtracts it from 100. While 90% might look like a good score by ordinary grading, it is not an A in typing: it means one character in every ten is wrong, so with five characters to a word, every other word has a mistake in it. We recommend setting a minimum accuracy goal and having students retake an exercise that misses it. An exercise can only be retaken immediately after it is finished, so check your results before moving on.

The accuracy chart below outlines the recommended performance minimums for student and adult typists.

• Elementary School (3rd-5th grade): 85%+

• Middle School (6th-8th grade): 90%+

• High School (9th-12th grade): 95%+

• College/Adult: 98%+

We suggest that all students start at the beginner level.