Fact · Dictation for work and study
0.5standard deviations below the mean keyboarding speed
In the 1999 follow-up study, for students whose keyboarding speed was half a standard deviation below the mean, taking the tests on computer had a substantial negative effect.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“for students whose keyboarding speed was 0.5 standard deviations below the mean, performing the tests on computer had a substantial negative effect”
Testing On Computers: A Follow-up Study Comparing Performance On Computer and On Paper, Michael Russell, Education Policy Analysis Archives, Volume 7, Number 20, 1999, Abstract.
Open the original- What it measures
- Eighth grade students took language arts, science and math items on paper and on computer. A keyboarding test measured each student's typing speed, and the study compared results by that speed.
- What it does not show
- Results were mixed: the computer format had an overall negative effect on the math test, and no overall group effect on the language arts tests. The students were schoolchildren, not law students.