Fact · Typing and writing speed
Rayner and colleagues conclude that claims of reading at super speed with good comprehension are overstated and not in line with research on language processing.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“overstated and not in line with what we know about the way language is visually and cognitively processed.”
So Much to Read, So Little Time: How Do We Read, and Can Speed Reading Help?, Keith Rayner et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2016, Summary of the review.
Open the original- What it measures
- The review was written in response to speed-reading programs that claim several-fold gains in reading rate.
- What it does not show
- A review of the research, not a new experiment. It does not rule out skimming gains, which the authors separate from comprehension.