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School of Student Essentials

Typing Speed: accuracy and speed

Step 7 of 9 in Library

Next in your path: 13.6.2 File Systems: naming, sharing and sync

What you'll be able to do
  • Measure gross speed, net speed and accuracy, and keep a progress log.
  • Use accuracy first, then raise speed in small steps.
  • Use Word's spelling and grammar marks and AutoCorrect to catch errors.
  • Cut editing time with keyboard shortcuts.
  • Build your own AutoCorrect shortcuts for words you type often.
  • Run a fair speed test and write an honest result.
Words in this course 28Open the Vocabulary Hall
01

Your baseline: gross speed, net speed, accuracy

In simple words

Think of a race where every stumble costs you time. Gross speed counts how far you ran. Net speed takes away the stumbles. Accuracy tells you how many steps were clean.

Before this course: Touch Typing (course 13.9). You should already sit correctly, know the home row and finger zones, and know that one typing-test word is five characters.

Key facts
  • In typing tests, one word is counted as five characters, including spaces.
  • Gross WPM = (characters typed / 5) / minutes.
  • Net WPM is gross WPM minus the uncorrected mistakes per minute. It is the fairer number.
  • Accuracy = correct characters / total characters x 100.
  • Always test the same way: same length, same site, similar time of day, and write it down.
Example

In 2 minutes you type 500 characters with 4 uncorrected errors. Gross = (500 / 5) / 2 = 50 WPM. Errors per minute = 2. Net = 48 WPM.

Step by step
  1. Open a free typing test site your teacher allows.
  2. Choose a 2-minute test.
  3. Type calmly and look at the screen, not the keys.
  4. Write down gross WPM, net WPM and accuracy.
  5. Do the test again the next day and write the new numbers.
  6. Make a table with date, gross, net, accuracy.
  7. Check: your table has two rows and you can explain the difference between gross and net.
Watch on YouTube
Which should you focus on first: accuracy or speed?Typesy · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Your baseline: gross speed, net speed, accuracy
LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00
Read the video script
[Host] "Fifty words per minute. Sounds great, until half the words are wrong."
[Text on screen: Gross - errors = Net] "Gross speed counts everything. Net speed takes away the mistakes."
[Screen: results table with date, gross, net, accuracy] "Write all three numbers every time."
[Host] "Your starting number is not a grade. It is a starting line."
Try it now

Take two 2-minute tests on two days. Fill in your table and calculate net WPM by hand once.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Typing Speed: accuracy and speed" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Your baseline: gross speed, net speed, accuracy".

What the lesson teaches:
- In typing tests, one word is counted as five characters, including spaces.
- Gross WPM = (characters typed / 5) / minutes.
- Net WPM is gross WPM minus the uncorrected mistakes per minute. It is the fairer number.
- Accuracy = correct characters / total characters x 100.
- Always test the same way: same length, same site, similar time of day, and write it down.

The exercise I'm working on:
Take two 2-minute tests on two days. Fill in your table and calculate net WPM by hand once.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Your baseline: gross speed, net speed, accuracy" from the course "Typing Speed: accuracy and speed".

Here's what the lesson says:
Think of a race where every stumble costs you time. Gross speed counts how far you ran. Net speed takes away the stumbles. Accuracy tells you how many steps were clean.

The activity:
Take two 2-minute tests on two days. Fill in your table and calculate net WPM by hand once.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Open Claude
Sources
My notes
02

Accuracy first, speed second

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

03

Find your weak keys and drill them

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

04

Editing faster with Word shortcuts

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

05

Typing less with AutoCorrect and AutoText

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

06

Typing real work: copying and writing

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

07

A fair speed test and your 4-week plan

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++

Final project

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??

Quiz

  1. How many characters count as one word in a typing test?

  2. What is the difference between gross and net WPM?

  3. You type 400 characters in 2 minutes. What is gross WPM?

  4. What does a red squiggly line mean in Word on Windows?

  5. What key runs a spelling and grammar check on Windows?

  6. Which shortcut deletes the word to the left?

  7. Which shortcut changes text between upper, lower and title case?

  8. How long can an AutoCorrect replacement be?

  9. Which feature suits long blocks of text: AutoCorrect or AutoText?

  10. Why is your composing speed usually lower than your copy speed?

EX

Final exam

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

CE

Certificate

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.