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 on the 10-key test: digits 0–9, the decimal point, the minus key, and Enter.
- Counted on the alphanumeric test: every character key (letters, digits, spaces and punctuation), plus the Tab or Enter that ends each field.
- 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 doesn't count toward net or accuracy; its keystrokes still count toward gross.
How we read each requirement
Requirements are short and don't define their terms. This is how the result tape interprets each one:
- City of Fayetteville, AR — typing test pass mark (Testing Procedure page). “A passing score for the typing test is 7000 keystrokes per hour.” — We compare your net KPH with 7,000. The page doesn't say whether errors are subtracted, so we use the stricter reading. This is Fayetteville's typing test, not a numeric keypad test, so a 10-key score is only a rough comparison.
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.