What is a 10-key test?
A 10-key test measures how fast and how accurately you type numbers on the number pad, the block of keys on the right of a full-size keyboard. It matters in jobs built around figures, such as data entry or bookkeeping.
Each entry is a number: type it, then press Enter to move on to the next one. Choose whole numbers only, or amounts with decimals such as 1284.50, typed with the decimal key. The test lasts 1, 3 or 5 minutes. The digits of the top row work too, but the point is to train the number pad.
A wrong key counts as an error, and you must press the right key to go on. There is nothing to erase, but every mistake costs you time.
How is KPH calculated?
Data entry speed is measured in keystrokes per hour (KPH). Typocto counts your correct keystrokes, Enter included, and scales them to one hour. If you make 150 correct keystrokes in one minute, your score is 150 × 60 = 9,000 KPH.
Your result also shows your accuracy, the share of correct keystrokes, and the number of entries you completed. Your best score is kept in your browser.
Finger placement on the number pad
The number pad is a job for the right hand alone. Rest your fingers on the middle row:
- Index on 4, middle finger on 5, ring finger on 6. The 5 has a small bump, so you can find it by touch.
- The index covers 7, 4 and 1; the middle finger 8, 5, 2 and /; the ring finger 9, 6, 3 and the decimal point.
- The little finger takes minus, plus and Enter; the thumb takes 0.
During the test, an on-screen number pad shows the next key and the finger that presses it. On a phone, your phone's numeric keyboard opens. If your keypad moves the cursor instead of typing digits, press Num Lock.
What is a good 10-key score?
Many data entry job postings ask for about 8,000 to 10,000 KPH, sometimes with an accuracy of 98–99%. It varies from one employer to another, so check the posting. To give you an idea, 8,000 KPH means about 133 correct keystrokes a minute: a little over two every second.
How to improve
- Keep your middle finger on 5 and come back to it by touch after every entry.
- Don't look at the keypad: read the number on the screen and let your fingers find the keys.
- Put accuracy before speed. In data entry, a wrong figure costs much more than the second you saved.
- Start with whole numbers on the short test, then move on to decimals and longer tests.