How we score

Every rule our tests use, in one place. If a score looks wrong, check it against this page — and tell us if we got something wrong.

Keystrokes

Counted: digits 0–9, the decimal point, the minus key, and Enter (or Tab between fields on the alphanumeric test). Each record's closing key is one keystroke.
Not counted: Backspace, arrow keys, Num Lock.
Keys you delete still count toward gross, because you pressed them.

The three numbers

Gross KPH = keystrokes pressed ÷ hours.
Net KPH = keystrokes in your submitted records that match the target, position by position, ÷ hours. The closing Enter only counts as correct when the whole record is right.
Accuracy = correct keystrokes ÷ keystrokes the targets called for. A missing digit is an error; so is an extra one.

Worked example: in 3 minutes you submit 20 five-digit records and 2 of them have one wrong digit. That's 120 target keystrokes (each record is 5 digits + Enter). Correct: 18 × 6 + 2 × 4 = 116 (in the two bad records, 4 digits are right and the Enter doesn't count). Net KPH = 116 ÷ 0.05 h = 2,320. Accuracy = 116 ÷ 120 = 96.7%.

The time is the full length you picked (1, 3 or 5 minutes), counted from your first keystroke. A record you haven't submitted when time runs out isn't scored.

How we read each posting

Postings are short and don't define their terms. This is how the result tape interprets each one:

City of Gahanna, OH — Communications Technician I (May 2026 posting). “Data Entry with minimal error at least 4,000 keystrokes per hour.” — We compare your net KPH with 4,000. “Minimal error” has no number, so accuracy isn't part of the check.
Las Vegas Metro Police — Police Dispatcher Professional I (Nov 2025 posting). “CritiCall requires an Overall Data Entry score of 3700 keystrokes per hour or higher AND an Overall Non-Data Entry Score of 70% or higher, in order to pass.” — The posting refers to CritiCall, a separate test whose scoring isn't published. We compare your net KPH with 3,700 as the closest match. The 70% for the non-data-entry parts isn't something we test.
State of Hawaii — Data Entry Operator I (Nov 2017 posting). “operate an alphabetic and numeric keying and verifying machine at a minimum rate of 25 records or 7,000 keystrokes per hour with an error rate of no more than 10% at the time of hire” — We compare your net KPH with 7,000 and require an error rate (wrong keystrokes ÷ target keystrokes) of 10% or less; the posting doesn't say how the error rate is calculated, so that's our reading. We leave out the “25 records” alternative: the posting doesn't say how long a record is, and our short drill records would make it meaningless.
County of Orange, CA — Data Entry Technician (Mar 2018 posting). “Keyboard at a corrected rate of 5000 keystrokes per hour with a minimum rate of 85% accuracy” — “Corrected rate” read as net KPH: at least 5,000, with accuracy of 85% or more.

Words per minute

On the alphanumeric test, a word is 5 characters and net WPM = correct characters ÷ 5 ÷ minutes. OPM's standard says: “Words per minute are based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors.” We compare with the OPM levels only on a 5-minute run, counting each field that isn't exactly right as one error. OPM doesn't define an error, so that's our reading too.

Checked by tests

The scoring code has automated tests with hand-worked answers like the example above. Before every release we also break the scoring rules on purpose — for example, counting gross instead of net — and confirm that the tests catch it.