Reading Speed Test

How the test works

1. Pick a text. Each is a few paragraphs long (about 330–370 words); single paragraphs make reading speed look higher than it is.
2. Read at your normal pace, the way you read something you need to understand. The clock starts when the text appears.
3. Press “I’m done” the moment you reach the last line.
4. Answer five questions. The text is hidden by then, so you answer from memory.

You get four numbers: your words per minute, your comprehension (questions right), your comprehension-adjusted speed (speed × share of correct answers) and, on later tries, the change since last time. Guessing alone gets about one question in four right, which is why the adjusted speed is shown next to the raw speed and never on its own.

What your result means

Words per minute	What it means	Source
under 175	Below the typical adult range for non-fiction	Brysbaert, 2019
175–300	The typical adult range; the average is about 238	Brysbaert, 2019
300–400	Faster than most adults; good college-educated readers read about 200–400	Rayner et al., 2016
400–600	Fast; in one study a speed-reading course took readers from about 280 to 400 while comprehension slipped from 81% to 74%	Rayner et al., 2016
600 and up	Skimming speed; comprehension tends to collapse, even for trained speed readers	Carver, 1985, reported in Rayner et al., 2016

These norms come from English-language studies. If you read Turkish, use the Turkish test: the same content takes fewer, longer words in Turkish, so Turkish speeds are naturally lower.

Why your speed changes from text to text

Your result is your speed on this text, today. It moves with:

• Difficulty and word length. Texts with longer words are read more slowly; word length alone explains much of the gap between fiction and non-fiction (Brysbaert, 2019).
• What you already know. Readers who know the topic understand and remember more of the same text.
• Why you are reading. Reading to memorise is far slower than reading to understand: around 100 words per minute is typical when people study for a test (Brysbaert, 2019).

How to raise your score

Practice and vocabulary are the reliable routes, and the gains come slowly (Rayner et al., 2016). The lessons teach the Speed Readingo method step by step, and the exercises take about 10 minutes a day. Come back in a few weeks, take the other text, and compare both numbers: speed and comprehension.

About the texts

Both passages come from the practice set of Abdullah Yılmaz’s speed reading course, adapted for the web. They are reading exercises, not reference articles.