A Study Guide for Typing Tests: and Tips
Updated November 18, 2023
What Is a Typing Test?
A typing test is an online assessment that is used to determine the speed and accuracy of your typing.
They are often used in the early stages of the recruitment process to ensure that you, as the candidate, are able to type quickly and accurately – which is essential for productivity in some roles.
A typing test typically consists of a short passage of text that you will need to copy within a given time limit, and then your results will show you your speed (in words per minute) and your accuracy (which is usually given as a percentage).
The average typing speed for an adult is about 30 to 40 words per minute (WPM), and it is stenographers who can typically type the fastest, getting speeds of 200+ WPM, although they use stenotype machines to achieve this.
For the average person, typing is a skill that can be improved through practice and is an essential skill for all sorts of roles – from clerical and administration though to transcription and even emergency services.
If you are applying for a role that needs fast and accurate typing, then you might be asked to complete a typing test – and this article will help you to prepare for it.
When Is a Typing Test Used?
Typing tests often accompany other pre-employment assessments, so if you are applying for a role where you will need fast and accurate keyboard skills, you can expect to take a typing test after the initial paper sift and screening of resumes and application forms.
Careers where typing skills are needed include:
- Clerical
- Administration
- Civil service
- Legal secretaries
- Typists
- Programmers and coders
- Transcriptionists
- Data entry
- Emergency services operators and dispatchers
- Court stenographers
- Copywriters
When it comes to a typing test for employment purposes, employers want to ensure that you are able to type quickly, but also accurately – it is the combination of these two factors that will make for a better candidate.
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How Long Do Typing Speed Tests Take?
Some typing tests can be really quick – taking just one minute. Others tend to be longer.
It really depends on the requirements of the role as to which length of test you will be taking – they can come in one, two-, three-, five-, or 10-minute increments as standard.
It is worth remembering that many employers will prefer you to take a longer test, as it is more representative of your typing ability, but all lengths can be valid.
Some typing tests will just have a passage of text that needs to be copied, with no real time limit – these are relatively simple to deal with as you just type the words you see in the normal way, and the total time taken is used along with your accuracy to gauge your final score.
Different Types of Typing Speed Test
Standard Typing Test
Most of the typing tests that you will encounter will be a standard typing test.
These tests will give you a passage of text that you need to type into the screen. The passage might be related to the job you have applied for or the company itself, or it could just be something random.
These passages might contain some numbers, but they are more likely to just require words and punctuation – remember that missing out a comma still counts as a mistake.
The idea is to type as much as you can, as accurately as you can, within the time limit.
A Spreadsheet Typing Test
Spreadsheet typing is most often used in data entry, and in many cases will focus on both text and numbers to fill in the blanks.
The data you might have to use includes things like names and addresses as well as telephone numbers – accuracy is incredibly important in these data entry typing tests.
You might be able to get quicker for this type of test if you know some of the keyboard shortcuts for moving between cells in a spreadsheet, too – like the tab button, for example.
Completing online data entry tests will help you to increase your speed and accuracy.
Alphanumeric Typing Test
The alphanumeric typing test is similar in format to the standard test; you will be given a passage to copy that will include letters and words, punctuation, and numbers, too – in different formats.
The idea is essentially the same as the alphanumeric test – just be fast and accurate, and don’t forget your punctuation.
Audio Typing Speed
Transcription is about typing speed as well as the ability to listen. In an audio typing or transcription test, you will be required to listen to a prerecorded audio clip and type what it is saying as quickly as possible.
The audio typing test is often much longer than the standard typing test, as this reflects more accurately the work you will be required to do when you get the actual role.
What Is Best: Speed or Accuracy?
Even with the added help of a spell check facility in your word processing document, accuracy is an important factor – as is speed.
When you are practicing for your test, you need to make sure that you are focusing on both your total WPM, but also reducing errors.
Different companies will have different requirements for accuracy and speed, and the seniority and experience level of the position will also be considered when they are setting benchmarks.
This means that a role such as an emergency services dispatcher will need almost perfect accuracy, whereas a typist might need more speed.
This means that speed and accuracy should be the ultimate aim through your practice, so that you do not risk losing out if the recruiters are looking for someone who can type at 90 WPM with less than 1% errors.
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How to Prepare for a Typing Speed Test
Step 1. Take Typing Courses
Typing gets better the more you do it, and there are many ways you can practice. Numerous sites have courses that you can take which establish good typing practices.
They can also help you get used to doing things like using all your fingers rather than ‘peck’ typing and also how to position your hands to make it easier.
These online resources often incorporate games, which can make improving your typing skills much more fun.
You can also look for online training videos too – these can be YouTube tutorials, or even paid-for content from professionals, if you want to have the best chance of improvement.
Step 2. Take a Practice Typing Speed Test Online
The sites that offer training resources will often have practice typing tests available too – and these are going to be invaluable for you when you are preparing.
Practice tests will be available in different timings – so you’ll be able to practice with a test that lasts one minute, two minutes, or even five minutes.
Use these tests to see where you are now, and then again after you have practiced and learned new strategies through the training courses. You should see some improvement.
Step 3. Don’t Forget the Basics
Typing is something that most of us do every day, even if it is just using our smartphone keyboard to type out a comment on social media.
Here are some basics for using a keyboard that you probably already know:
- Most keyboards have a little ridge on the F key and the J key. To accurately touch type (or get your typing speed up, place your forefingers on these keys – this gives the rest of your fingers access to the keys you need.
- Don’t forget to use the Shift key to capitalize letters, because it is much faster.
- Practice makes perfect – warm up before taking the test so you can get the muscle memory working and in shape.
- Sit up straight when you are typing and make sure that your keyboard and screen are ergonomically supported to make it more comfortable for you.
If you can, try and read a couple of words ahead so that you know where your fingers are going to be next.
A typing test is a pre-employment assessment used to evaluate the accuracy and speed of a candidate.
The test involves typing a paragraph or a passage of text, with the number of words typed in a minute counted (as well as the number of mistakes). You’ll get a score that shows you your average words per minute (WPM) and your accuracy as a percentage.
To pass a pre-employment typing test, you’ll need to reach or exceed the benchmark speed and accuracy scores that the recruitment team is looking for.
When it comes to a typing test for employment purposes, the team will want to see candidates who are able to type fast, with a high words per minute (WPM) score, and high accuracy too. The scores needed will differ for different roles.
The average adult types at a speed of around 30 to 40 words per minute (WPM), while a court stenographer can reach speeds of 200 WPM (although they do have a special stenotype machine to help with this).
The score you will need will depend on the role you have applied for. General administration roles usually need about 50 WPM, while emergency services dispatchers will be expected to reach 85 WPM.
A typing assessment is usually taken online, which means you can take it whenever and wherever suits you best – which means that in theory, you could cheat on your typing test.
This is not recommended, however – if you get a job based on your typing skills and you cannot match them when you are in the role, it won’t end well for you.
To pass a typing test, you need to input the passage of text through fast and accurate typing in the time frame that is allotted.
Your results will show how many words you can type in a minute, and how accurate you are with it.
The score that you will need to achieve will depend on the role that you have applied for, so the best course of action is to practice enough to score as highly as possible.
You can find typing tests online, which are all great ways to practice and see what score you can achieve – and you can often take multiple attempts to get the score higher.
There are some great resources available at JobTestPrep as well, which can be very helpful.
There are some continuing education centers around the US that offer in-person typing tests for certification, but most people will take them online and at home, especially if they are a requirement for a job.
To pass a speed typing test for a job, you will need to quickly and accurately take the passage of text that you are presented with and transfer it to the screen, without making too many mistakes. The best way to achieve this is with practice. You can find a free typing test for employment online.
Many online typing tests provide some sort of certification of completion, and these can be used in a variety of different ways.
If you are taking a typing test as part of a job application, you will usually be required to complete the test provided by a company, rather than one from an outside organization (so no typing test certificate for employment would be necessary).
There are many different online practice typing tests, and one is much the same as another – the best one for you will just be the one you enjoy working with the best.
For recruitment, the best typing test is the one that is most relevant for the role that is being recruited for – whether that is one that is based on written words or on numerical data.
Typing tests are used by employers to ensure that candidates have the required speed and accuracy to be productive and efficient.
The benefits of fast and error-free typing include improved customer service, better accuracy, and a reduction in training costs and needs – which all impact profit.
If you want to improve your typing test results, the best thing you can do is practice. Once you know the best technique and can put it into practice, all the typing you do will help to improve both your speed and your accuracy. You can check your progress using various typing tests online, too.
Final Thoughts
The typing test is an assessment of one of the fundamentals of most roles – the ability to use a keyboard.
While focusing on speed and accuracy, the typing test evaluates each candidate in the same way, making it more likely that the candidate is able to work quickly, reduce errors, and require less training.
As a candidate, if you are going to be facing a typing test as part of the recruitment process for a role you are interested in, you can improve your score simply by practicing and getting more familiar with your keyboard – it will make all the difference.
