Learn how typing accuracy is calculated and how to improve it.

Accuracy Formula

Accuracy % = ((Total characters - Errors) / Total characters) × 100

Example

• Total characters typed: 500
• Errors: 10
• Accuracy = ((500 - 10) / 500) × 100 = 98%

Accuracy Levels

Tips to Improve Accuracy

1. Slow down — speed comes naturally
2. Focus on problem keys
3. Practice regularly
4. Proofread your typing

Step by Step: Checking Your Result After Every Test

Do not wait for a coaching centre to hand you a score. Two minutes of honest counting after each practice run gives you the same picture and shows exactly where the leakage is happening.

1. Save or screenshot the passage you typed before you close the window, so you can compare it line by line.
2. Count the total characters you produced, including spaces if your tool counts them.
3. Go through the original text and mark every character, word or symbol you got wrong, missed, or added.
4. Subtract the errors from the total, divide by the total and multiply by one hundred.
5. Write the percentage in a notebook beside your speed for the same run.
6. Mark the keys and letter combinations responsible for the largest share of those errors.

Mistakes People Make When Reading the Number

• Counting a whole word as one error while the scoring system counts each wrong character separately.
• Celebrating a high percentage from a passage far easier than the one used in the exam.
• Checking accuracy only on good runs and skipping the calculation after a messy one.
• Judging progress from a single test instead of comparing the averages of a whole week.
• Raising speed in the same week and blaming accuracy, when the two were never measured independently.

A Daily Routine for Clean Typing

1. Warm up for five minutes at a comfortable pace without watching the timer.
2. Type one full passage slowly, prioritising clean keys over speed, and calculate the percentage immediately.
3. Copy every wrongly typed word three times correctly, saying the spelling aloud as you go.
4. Repeat the same passage once more and compare both percentages in your log.
5. Finish with a short untimed run to rebuild confidence before you stop.

Accuracy Questions Answered

Should I fix speed or accuracy first?

Accuracy, always. A clean run can be accelerated later, while a fast run full of errors has to be dismantled and rebuilt, which costs far more practice time in the end.

Why does my accuracy fall when the passage is full of unfamiliar words?

Unfamiliar spellings slow your fingers down and invite compensating guesses. Keep a separate list of such words, drill them in isolation, and the paragraph-level percentage recovers on its own.

Is it worth rechecking a test I already passed comfortably?

Yes, because the errors you overlook are usually the ones repeating themselves in every run. A quick audit of a comfortable test often reveals a pattern that no new test will expose.

The Point of Tracking All This

Percentages are only useful if they change what you do tomorrow. Let each calculated figure select one specific thing for the next session — a key, a spelling rule, or a slower starting pace — and the number becomes a tool rather than a verdict.