How typing exams are scored

Government and job typing tests don't just measure speed. They count mistakes in specific ways, and the same typing can pass one exam and fail another. Knowing the rules is half the preparation.

Gross speed and net speed

• Gross speed counts everything you typed: usually characters ÷ 5 per minute.
• Net speed subtracts a penalty for each mistake. Many exams use net speed, so a few errors can drop you below the pass mark.
• Some exams count key depressions per hour (KDPH) instead of words per minute. 8,000 KDPH is roughly 27 WPM.

What counts as a mistake

• Full mistakes: missing, wrong or extra words.
• Half mistakes (in some exams): wrong capitals, punctuation or spacing.
• Most exams allow a fixed maximum, for example 5% of words. Go over it and the result fails regardless of speed.

On exam day

• Read the passage instructions twice. Check whether backspace is allowed.
• Type at about 90% of your best practice speed. Accuracy wins exams.
• Don't skip a word to save time. An omission usually counts as a full mistake.