How to Know How Fast Your Students Should Be Typing

In today’s very technology-driven world, typing may be one of the most underrated skills out there. After all, there are documents, spreadsheets, slide shows, forms, videos, and websites to create too. And these projects may seem more exciting to students in your class because when they’re done creating them, they have something creative and tangible to show off.

What students don’t recognize—but teachers certainly understand—is that typing is a foundational skill that impacts all of the other technology skills they build over time. And being a quick and accurate typer is imperative for high school students, college students, and eventually employees to keep up with both school and work demands.

While a good typing speed varies from person to person, the teacher’s job is to meet each student where they are today and help them grow faster and more accurate in their typing skills with just the right amount of practice and encouragement.

There are tons of ways to get your students to practice typing without just copying boring text that means nothing to them. 

From themed typing assignments to typing games and “type your own adventure” stories, there are plenty of opportunities for teachers to make typing practice both fun and engaging.

And the best place to start is to set word per minute typing goals with each of your students so that they understand where they’re at now and take ownership of their progress over time.

What is a Good Typing Speed

Before you get started setting goals with each of your students, it’s important to ask yourself “what is a good typing speed?” And the answer to that question will certainly change based on the experience level of the student and the technique they are currently using.

On average, most people type at a rate of around 40 words per minute (wpm). This typically occurs when they have good posture and use the correct typing technique with all 10 fingers. 

Surprisingly, the average typing speed for students who use the hunt and peck method of typing drops significantly to only 27 wpm. So if you want your students to make noticeable progress, explaining good posture and reviewing the correct typing technique with all 10 fingers will go a long way towards increasing their wpm rate.

As a guide, beginners between the ages of 6 to 11 years old typically type at a rate of 15 wpm, beginners between the ages of 12 to 16 years old at a rate of 30 wpm, and intermediate typists at a rate of 40 wpm. 

As millions of students have gone through our typing lessons, we have developed a basic set of accuracy thresholds based on a student’s grade in school:

K-2: 80-85%

3-5: 85-90%

6-12: 90-95%

While these are the targets we recommend, they’re not set in stone.

If you’re a teacher, you can set the standards yourself by giving your students a few practice lessons and then tracking their average accuracy through the portal. Then you may use the results to determine standards for the class.

Lastly, while 40 wpm is a typical requirement for many jobs, certain administrative positions require up to 60 wpm. So the faster and more accurate your students eventually type, the more job opportunities become available to them.

 Typing Test for Kids

When it comes to improving typing skills for kids, a wpm typing test will provide a lot of the important data you need to get started and scaffold your typing lessons accordingly. 

With a wpm typing test, your students will complete a timed typing test and get an accurate view of their progress. This in turn encourages them to stay motivated and keep aiming for a higher and higher score to beat any of their previous records. 

Many kids are competitive by nature, so tapping into this competitiveness will help your students stay focused and build those crucial typing skills along the way. And those skills will serve them well into high school, college, or even the job market.

Plus, the typing tests for kids on typing.com allow you to monitor your students’ progress with the option of 1, 3, or 5-minute typing tests. So it’s up to you to decide how long and how often you want to require each of your students to test their skills.

These timed tests also identify each student’s problem keys. And once their particular problem keys are identified, their future typing lessons will adapt to address these issues and increase their speed and accuracy at the same time.

Both the instructions and the lessons are also offered in both English and Spanish for ELL students and those learning a second language so you can be sure that all of your student’s unique needs are being met and that no one is being left behind.

You can even create your own timed typing tests with the content you’re already using in class. 

So it’s super easy to supplement what you’re currently teaching or even collaborate with teachers in other subject areas. In fact, it’s as simple as copying and pasting your content directly into the custom test or lesson box.

Kids Typing Games

Looking for fun ways to increase your students’ average wpm typing after they take their timed tests? Look no further than gamification.

Gamification is the process of using games in order to learn new information, practice skills, and engage and motivate your students. 

Games are fun, they draw kids in, and they already have plenty of practice playing games both at home. So by harnessing the power of games, you can increase your students’ average wpm typing while they participate in interactive gamified learning.

And the best part is that they don’t even realize just how much they’re really learning. So it’s far more likely that they won’t want to stop playing than it is that they won’t want to start playing.

Typing Skills for Kids

Typing skills for kids are an important part of the learning process in any classroom. So it stands to reason that every teacher will be concerned at some point about whether or not their students are typing fast enough.

Just keep in mind that every student is unique, and they all have the ability to increase their own speed and accuracy with your professional guidance.

By using the data you receive from typing tests for kids, helping them set personal typing goals, and implementing gamified learning into your lesson plans, your students are sure to be proficient typers in no time.