10-Key Typing Test

A 10-key test checks how fast and accurately you enter numbers on the numeric keypad, the block of keys on the right of a full-size keyboard. Employers use it for roles where much of the day is spent keying figures: data entry, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, billing, claims and bookkeeping support. Unlike a typing test, it has no words: you key numbers, decimal points and sometimes signs, and the result is reported in keystrokes per hour.

Each character of an entry counts as a keystroke: digits and the decimal point. Enter is not counted. Net KPH counts only entries you typed exactly right; gross KPH counts everything you typed. Both are projected to an hour from the length of the test, so a 3-minute result is multiplied by 20. Employer tests use their own rules, for example counting Enter or applying an error penalty, so compare results from the same test rather than across tests.

There is no national standard, and each employer sets its own target, usually with an accuracy requirement. Published public-sector job specifications give an idea of the range: San Luis Obispo County, California, sets rising targets for its Data Entry Operator series, from 8,000 keystrokes per hour at the entry level to 12,000 at level III, with tight error limits, while a County of Orange Data Entry Technician posting asked for a corrected rate of 5,000 keystrokes per hour with at least 85% accuracy. Our guide to the data entry typing test and KPH explains these figures and how KPH compares with words per minute.

Rest your right index finger on 4, middle finger on 5 (it usually has a raised bump) and ring finger on 6; your thumb covers 0 and your little finger handles Enter. Give each finger its own column, keep your eyes on the numbers rather than your hand, and slow down until your accuracy is consistently high: speed comes from repetition, accuracy has to be built in from the start. Many data entry tests also include names and addresses, so practice the alphanumeric side with a typing test and the typing skills test for jobs.