Keyboarding Research & Resources

      How many people touch type?

That is a good question. One of my readers recently stated that she had found a statistic on the web that said only “10% of Americans touch type.” I doubted this and asked for her resources and she said that she had “just seen it on the web a few years ago.”

So, I tried to answer the question as well. I didn’t unearth anything. I even asked a resource librarian to help me and he didn’t find much.

Looked in Answers.com (GREAT Search engine) under WPM and found this “In one study of average computer users, the average rate for transcription was 33 words per minute, and only 19 words per minute for composition.^[1] In the same study, when the group was dividing into “fast”, “moderate” and “slow” groups, the average speeds were 40 wpm, 35 wpm, and 23 wpm respectively. Two-finger typists, sometimes also referred to as “Hunt-and-Peck” typists can reach speeds of about 37 wpm for memorized text, and 27wpm when copying text.^[2]

An average typist reaches 50 to 70 wpm, while some positions can require 80 to 95 (usually the minimum required for dispatch positions and other typing jobs), and some advanced typists work at speeds above 120.”

Imagine that!!!!! Hunt and pecking at 37 WPM? That’s 185 keystrokes per minute or 3 strokes per second. Not too fast for an unskilled laborer. =-)

Anywho, what do you think? What do you know? What do you see in your classroom? How fast do you type over there in Japan?

Share your ideas in these comments.

Z