How fast do you read? Take the test.

I couldn't resist and after taking it a few times (it changes the text you read) I scored between 400 and 450 words per minute with correct comprehension question answers. Not bad since the last time I was tested (grade school) I ranked the same.

Check it out.

http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/technology-research-centers/ereaders/sp...

216, as expected. I can't help but examine every character in every word. If you ever need a proofreader...

I scored 500-something, 600-something and 700-something before the stuff started repeating with perfect comprehension.

Mine was 296, but I'm not sure that's right, as I know I read slower on a computer than I do when I'm reading books, or my Kindle, both of which I've got right up to my nose, with my glasses off.

When I'm reading on the computer, especially this loaner, the font is so small that I'm reading very slowly to make sure I get the right meaning of the sentence. I'm not going to all the trouble to set this loaner up with a font/size that's comfortable for me.

500. But I read slower on the computer, because that is where I usually read legislation.

Mine was 425, not bad as a non-native English speaker, but I don't think I can improve anymore. The biggest problem is that my attention span is short, I can't keep on reading for four hours to finish Wuthering Heights.

Another flaw with this test: I can't read at my normal pace when I know I'm being timed. I try, but the thought of being timed clouds my mind, so I need to go back and reread sentences. It would also help if the piece were self-contained, rather than thrusting the reader into the middle of the action.

471. Better than I expected.

I got 528 the first time but it went down into the high 400s after that. Comprehension was good.

500+, but I'm not sure about that, since it was Alice in Wonderland! And hello, who doesn't know that story?

(I was wondering how long it would take before this made it to LT....)

You read 859 words per minute.
That makes you 244% faster than the national average.

Obligatory Woody Allen quote:

I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes.
It involves Russia.

You read 619 words per minute.
That makes you 148% faster than the national average.

Dangnabit! DangnaBob!

I read 490 words per minute, and got all the questions right. :)

So did I. Does it give you a score otherwise? That would be perfectly pointless.

http://college.cengage.com/collegesurvival/watkins/learning_companion/1e/student...

You may want to try this. This site gives you a score without comprehention test. There are a few questions, but the test is optional.

914. But, who wants to read like that? There was no joy, no wallowing in the words; just racing and speed-noticing. When I am reading fictionI love, I wallow in the words, and read narration at about twice conversational speed, and read conversations AT conversational speed. It's more fun that way - I can imagine a play going on in my mind.

When I am reading non-fiction, I do read faster, but again, what fun is there at such a speed?

Whoa, I'm super slow compared to you all!! I scored 333! I've been told by all my friends that I read super fast. I did read at my normal pace and I did have to go back a read a sentence or word again as it was weird to be put in the middle of the action. I did get all the comprehension questions right. :)

545 for me over 3 tests. But that's pushing myself. I don't usually read works of fiction very fast, because I like to savor them. My brain makes movies of the material, and reading very fast looks like fast-forwarding the film in my mind. Heh!

LolaWalser at #12:You read 619{*} words per minute.

That definitely deserves an asterisk: English isn't even your first language

500-700, usually with one marginally relevant mistake. Need reading glasses.

#19

Nnnn--it's not my parental language, but it's actually the first I used most of the time. I had three "first" languages, three "second"; after that we stopped counting.

I scored 454, 615 and 1035 words per minute, with all questions correct. My "true speed" is somewhere between the first two because I recognized the third text and only skimmed over it. The first number is probably a little bit too low, since I was reading very carefully, the second time was probably the closest to "normal". Of course my actual reading speed varies greatly, depending on my mood (I tend to get lost in thoughts sometimes...), situation (it's harder to concentrate on a busy train than in my comfy chair) and most of all the book.

Hmmm, between 406 and 498. That's interesting. I think I used to read faster, but with poorer eyesight, less ability to concentrate and more desire to enjoy the words, I read slower now. I don't think I'd want to read War and Peace in 20 hours and 16 minutes.

516, 625, 587 with all answers right.

While I have no idea what it would translate into in WPM, depending on what I'm reading, I seem to average 50-80 pages an hour.

Clocked four different times between 705 and 780 with all the questions right. Didn't seem to be noticeably different from my normal fiction-reading speed. I do know I read abominably fast compared to most people, and no, I don't know how I do it. I wish I did - I would totally market myself as a reading coach!

(24) rastaphrog, since I was a child, I have averaged about a page a minute. For most books, I can approximate when I'll complete the chapter, the book, etc. This can be handy, especially if it's late, and I need to get to sleep...if there are 30 pages left, then I probably will need to stay up 30 more minutes... ;)

However, how that works out to words per minute, I just don't know.

601 was my high score, but I tend to slow down if I KNOW I'm being timed. It gives me a paranoid feeling. It's the only time I slow down my pace. I can't seem to read slowly, even if I want to.

#25 I've alway read waaay faster than most. I've figured out that I read in blocks of words, instead of individual words. My son's elementary school reading tutor said that people either learn phonics or they read by "sight." Sight meaning we basically memorize every word we encounter. So we don't sound out a word, we just "see" it. My son and I both do this, and read much faster than my late dh, who used phonics. (I failed at phonics in 1st grade.) I'm guessing I interpret the letter patterns and "see" those instead of individual words. For this reason, I prefer a Bible set in paragraph style (text going across the whole width of the page) instead of the traditional two-column setting. The columns break up the words and sentences so much that it slows me down. Does that make any sense?

200,I think. I also read slower on the computer, perhaps I prefer read on papers to computer.

#26 fuzzi...I've surprised some of my friends with how fast I've read books. And I do the same when I'm reading before I go to sleep, tho there's been a few times when I've gone past where I wanted to stop and just HAD to finish the chapter I went into.*G*

27 - yeah - columns screw me over also. I have real troubles working with old newspaper format especially, because my reading gets so fragmented that I have a hard time keeping up with whatever I'm researching.

(29) Just a FEW times???? I've done it so many times.

When I was a child, I would stay up all night during the summer, reading in bed with a flashlight. :)

845, 917, 732, 1358 (when I tried to go as fast as possible) all Qs correct. I haven't got formal training on it but I think I can skim read. I have to process huge documents at work, hunting for the half an inch of meaning in amongst fifty feet of noise.
When reading for fun, I'm more likely to go still at that speed or similar but read the page twice. I find it quite tortuous to go really slowly as all the beginnings of the sentences drop out of my head before I get to the end. Probably I'm taking it in blocks of writing, like RitaFaye mentioned.

220, 304, 367 The last two were stories I was familiar with. I have to say, I felt as though I was pushing it and not enjoying the flow of the words, even on the 220. I never realized I read so slow, since I seem to finish so many books, but I enjoy the sound and feel of the words I'm reading, the cadence and rhythms, if there are any. At least if an author has taken time to write well. I do linger in a story with characters I enjoy and often find myself turning back to reread for that pleasure if a story has compelling action which makes me want to read faster. Huh, interesting.

I don't understand the significance of people bing able to read quickly (unless you're in college and have a really boring assignment and only need key words to pass the test). I know a few people who are fast readers (most of my friends are "average", which is apparently an awful standard), but they can't string three words together if they try to read it aloud. I appear to be at an 11th grade reading speed, but I excel at reading aloud. And, as someone else might have mentioned (I skimmed), can we guarantee comprehension? We know where the story is taking place and what is happening, but do we know how people are feeling? Can we understand the characters' motivation? Are we "smarter" for reading faster, or for reading more slowly and just taking it in?

You don't have to mind me if you don't want to. I just have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to this sort of thing.

I certainly don't think I'm any smarter, or that I'm reading better, than people who read more slowly.

That said, I do very well on comprehension tests, I have no troubles getting emotionally involved in what I read (I laugh and cry over my reading pretty often) and I have never pushed myself to read quickly - I just read at what I consider my natural pace. I do "skim" when I'm in a hurry, or when I'm getting general info for work or school, but that process is forced, and is very different from how I read normally.

My natural reading speed is just fast, and has been all my life - I don't think of it as a better/worse type of thing, just as I don't consider eye color to be better/worse - just different for individuals. To be totally frank, I'm often a little bummed that I do read so fast - it means that I read through my favorite authors much more quickly than slow readers do!

I am thankful that I enjoy re-reading, and I do that quite regularly, otherwise I don't think I'd ever have enough to read.

Not to steal the thread, but I can't sight-read; can't look at sheet music or guitar tabs and play any note without translating where it relates to on the guitar or piano, etc; each note, each time. It also applies to reading aloud.

In high school, part of the Humanities class, delving into plays, we had to cold-read a script, onstage, in front of the rest of the class.
In my #2 (above) response, I mentioned that I have to read every character. Wouldn't you know that the part I was given to read had multiple lines of dialog - spoken one word at a time (by me, not a trait of the character). If there was a short sentence, or clauses, I could read it and repeat it, but there were large gaps of time in between.

It's how I can get away with reading to kids in MrsHouseLibrary's library - short sentences, and illustrations to show (and allow me to read ahead).

I now return you to your regular topic. I apologize for the inconvenience.

#35 - I mean no insult to anyone who can naturally read faster. ^^;

#36 - I hated when people were forced to read aloud when they didn't want to. :(

I found my first piece to be especially difficult reading. I had to slow down quite a bit. I intentionally avoided skimming. I'm reading on a lap top and the font was a little small. Nonetheless, I got all the comprehension questions correct. I was rated at 577.

I suppose I could try again, but why?

I think everyone has something they are particularly good at. My "thing" is reading. I read fast and have excellent comprehension. Always have. It's helped me in my career in that I can read procedures and policies and learn them very quickly. Other than that, it's just a ... thing.

I got 528 words per minute or 111% faster than average. But I know I behave differently in different situations - I will read a lot slower when sitting and reading for pleasure as opposed to the reading I do in work. I am very fast in work because my job involves searching databases for abstracts etc and I can skim a webpage for relevance in 30 seconds flat! In fact I find it quite odd when training and helping others to search as I can evaluate in 2 seconds an article's relevance and want to scroll down while the trainee is still laboriously reading the article title. I have to consciously remember that others can't scan at same speed.