How the Harver typing test works
Each sentence has a box beneath it. The timer starts when you click into the first box, and you type the text as quickly and accurately as you can. A green tick appears beside a sentence once it matches; a red cross means there is an error you must fix before you can go on. Arrow keys, mouse clicks, copying and pasting are blocked, and you need a desktop or laptop with a keyboard.
Harver works out gross words per minute from everything you type, counting spaces, numbers, letters and punctuation but not Shift or Backspace. Net words per minute takes off the mistyped words: typed words minus mistyped words, divided by the time. Your net score is then compared with a norm group whose average is 38, with a standard deviation of 17.
How to type faster without losing marks
Speed comes from rhythm, not bursts:
- Read a few words ahead of your fingers, so you never stop to find your place.
- Fix an error the moment you make it. With no arrow keys or mouse, a mistake found later means deleting everything back to it.
- Slow down slightly for capitals, numbers and punctuation. The sentence will not pass until each one matches.
- Keep your eyes off the keyboard. Touch typing on the home row is the biggest single speed gain.
Worked example
In 3 minutes you type 135 words, and 9 of them contain a mistake. Gross speed is 135 ÷ 3 = 45 words per minute. Net speed is (135 minus 9) ÷ 3 = 126 ÷ 3 = 42 words per minute.
Against Harver’s average of 38 and standard deviation of 17, a net 42 is a little above average. One standard deviation above average would be 55.
Tips for the real Harver typing test
- Switch to a computer before you start. If you began on a phone, log back in on a laptop with the same email address.
- Watch upper and lower case and punctuation. These are the errors that keep a red cross on screen.
- Warm up for a few minutes on any typing site first. Cold hands make more mistakes.
- Use an up-to-date Chrome, Harver’s preferred browser for this module, and refresh the page if the boxes stop responding.
Practise the Harver typing test on CogniPrep
Our version has 6 sentences, two plain, two with numbers and two with symbols, drawn fresh each run. The clock starts on your first keystroke and stops at 4 minutes or when all six are green. Backspace works; arrow keys, the mouse and paste do not. We score net words per minute, counting a word as five keystrokes, and a corrected mistake still counts against you. Your result is set against Harver’s average of 38. The sentence count and the 4-minute cap are ours, and a score typed on a phone is not comparable.