Hi All I wanted to know how many word per min a fifth grader should type so I could
get a feel for their skill level. Most people responded with places online where I
could give a typing test. I already made my own and also decided to use
typingtest.com
Below is my original query and responses.
Anyone know of a reputable source for typing guidelines (preferably online)
I want to give my 5th graders a typing test just to get a basic feel for where
they are.How many words a min. should a fifth grader be able to type and with how
many
mistakes??
____________________________________________________________________
Here is a link to a typing test online - http://typingtest.com/default.asp. You
have a choice of selecting CPM or WPM. CPM - characters per minute. WPM - words
per minute. I teach keyboarding and I use a software program that caluculates
student progress, setting the WPM limits according to each individual lesson. It
is all preset. I believe it starts out around 8 words per minute and students
should achieve around 35 WPM by approximately the 40th lesson. My students have
ranged from 20 to 70 WPM by the end of the lessons.
My students' ability to keyboard well varies from one extreme to another every year
which I feel is based on their exposure to computer use primarily at home. Those
with computers at home are faster typists in general. But, they also tend to be
the students who don't always use both hands and/or keep their hands anchored to
the Home Row because they have already developed bad habits.
I use plastic keyboard covers and test students once a week. They must fill in the
keys on a picture of a blank keyboard. The first week they complete the Home Row -
A S D F G H J K L ; Enter and Space Bar. The second week they must fill in the
Home Row and Top Row. The third week, they must fill in all alpha keys - Home Row,
Top Row, and Bottom Row. They do not get their cover off their keyboards until
they achieve a 100 on the 3rd week test which is given every Friday OR everyone
gets their covers removed after we complete all the lessons. Normally, all
students end up achieving the 100 score within 4-5 weeks.
My students hate the covers and using two hands simulataneously. So, they work
really hard to memorize the keyboard. I tell them that I have never had students
practice and not show improvement, but some people in general have better finger
dexterity and therefore, are better typists. Some also become much better typists
down the road when they use the skill on a daily basis. I also tell them that once
they can transfer that picture of the keyboard in their head to their fingers, they
will be good typists. (I start my keyboarding lessons by asking students to
describe to me where their bedroom window is located in relation to their bedroom
doorway. Then, I ask them if they have a mental picture of it. They always
answer, "Yes". Okay, that is what you will have when you finish keyboarding. You
will have a picture of the keyboard and its individual keys in your head by the
time you finish all the lessons. You are able to develop this picture only because
you have a cover on your keyboard. So, although they don't like it, they
understand why they must use the cover.)
Finally, I use a game I created one year when my server went down right before
keyboarding class. It ended up to be a good learning tool and great to use for
testing also. I have named it Air Bingo. Students hold their hands up in the air.
We begin with Home Row and progress through all the keys. I call out a letter in
Home Row (normally starting out with left to right, but later progressing to
calling any letter) and then they have to wiggle the correct finger you would use
to key that letter. I number the fingers also. The index finger is one and so on
until you reach the small finger which is number 4. If I say, "L4", that is Left
Hand, 4th finger = A key. I do the same thing on the right hand. There have been
years that I just call out the letters and they wiggle them instead of using the
L1/R1 termonology. In no time, kids fight over who can be the class leader and who
can be the class monitor. The class leader stands in front of the class with hands
in air calling out the letter and wiggling the correct finger. The class monitor
stands at the back of the room and checks to see who is wiggling the correct finger
and corrects those who are wiggling the wrong finger. Occassionally, I will play
with them by wiggling all fingers and asking them what it is. Answer: It is the
"Hokey Pokey'!
Don't have a reputable source for typing guidelines (only my school's
standard), but I can recommend, if you are looking, the typing test at:
http://www.typingcertification.com/PracticeTest.asp
Of the typing tests I found on the web it had the best combination of ease
of use and passages appropriate for the elementary set. If you find
something better, I'd love to know.
Hello, I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I hope it helps.
http://www.freetypinggame.net/play4.asp?lesson=26&time=1&AGo1=Start+Test
Shiloh Adame MLIS
CUSD 300
Library Director/Media Specialist/Computer Teacher
Westfield Community School K-8
Lincoln Prairie Elementary K-5
shiloh.bzdusek@d300.org<mailto:shiloh.bzdusek@d300.org>
"What a school thinks about its library, is a measure of what it thinks
about education."
Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education
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