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Typing speed and accuracy goals by age: what is known

Checked 19 October 2026 by XType

In short

The only figure on the NSW syllabus pages we read (Stages 1 to 3) is up to five familiar words per minute in Stage 1. For older children it asks students to monitor accuracy and rate against goals, not to hit a number. Any chart claiming an average speed for your child's age is not backed by the sources we checked.

Checked 19 October 2026 against the sources listed at the end.

Many websites publish tables of average typing speeds by age. The NSW syllabus pages we read for Stages 1 to 3 contain no such table. This guide sets out the little that is documented, and suggests a way to set goals.

What does the NSW syllabus say?

There is one number. In Stage 1, covering Years 1 and 2, students are asked to type up to five familiar words per minute (external link). It sits alongside using word-processing functions and finding punctuation keys. That figure describes an early skill, not a pass mark.

In Stage 2, the syllabus asks students to monitor goals that build on typing accuracy and rate (external link). In Stage 3 they reflect on and monitor typing accuracy and rate according to goals and given criteria (external link). Both statements are about monitoring accuracy and rate, and the Stage 3 one refers to goals and given criteria. Neither supplies a number.

Why is there no age table?

The pages we read give no age table. In our view, speed also depends on things like how familiar the words are and how much a child has practised. The Aalto University study of 168,000 online volunteers found a lot of variation in individual typing styles, with most people falling into eight typist categories (external link). That tells us typing is not one smooth scale, and its data came from volunteers who chose to take an online test, so it does not give norms for children.

The same group's motion capture study reported that self-taught typists can achieve performance levels comparable with touch typists (external link) in a transcription task. Again, this is not a study of NSW children.

Accuracy and speed together

The larger Aalto study found that faster typists generally make fewer errors, and slower typists especially replace letters with wrong ones (external link). It compared different typists rather than following any one person, so it does not show that a child who slows down will become more accurate, or the reverse. What it does support is not treating speed and accuracy as opposites.

The NSW wording names accuracy and rate together and does not rank them. In our view, keeping errors low first is a reasonable habit at home, with speed following once the keys are known.

Setting a goal that makes sense

These steps are our own suggestion, not a research finding.

  1. Take a baseline. Ask your child to type a short sentence they can read easily. Note the time and count the mistakes.
  2. Choose one measure. For the first month, aim to lower mistakes, not to raise speed.
  3. Compare with themselves. Last week's result is the only fair opponent.
  4. Raise the target slowly. When errors stay low across several sessions, add a little speed.
  5. Stop when it stops being fun. Goals should feel like a game, not a deadline.

Words per minute, explained

Typing speed is usually given in words per minute. The Aalto team's description of how it calculated speed (external link) counts a word as any five characters, so a short word and a long word count the same.

You can try the free 30-second typing test to see how a speed and an accuracy figure are reported together. If you would like lessons that track both, the XType pricing page lists the plans. Checked 19 October 2026.

Common questions

What speed should my Year 1 child type?
The Stage 1 syllabus mentions typing up to five familiar words per minute. It describes an early skill and is not a pass mark.
What speed should a Year 4 child reach?
We found no NSW figure. The Stage 2 syllabus asks children to monitor goals that build on accuracy and rate.
Are there Australian speed norms for children?
None in the sources we checked. We say so rather than quote a table we cannot support.
Do adults type faster than children?
The sources we read do not compare children and adults, and none of the Aalto studies we cite is a study of NSW children, so apply their results to children with care.
Should we aim for accuracy or speed?
In our view, accuracy first is a sensible habit. The large Aalto study reported that faster typists generally made fewer errors, but it analysed a dataset of volunteers' typing, so it does not show that either causes the other.

Keep reading

Sources, checked 19 October 2026

Not affiliated with ACARA, NESA or the NSW Department of Education.