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Average Reading Speed: Which Lane Are You In?

There are all different types, shapes and flavors of people. That is what makes the world go ‘round, as the saying goes. That and gravitational pull from the sun. So really, it is gravity that makes the world go around. Everyone has their own unique flair in everything they do. As small and unimportant as it may seem, people even have their own reading style.

Does it really matter what your average reading speed is? For anyone in school, yes it is. Reading is an essential and necessary skill, not only in school but in everyday life. Studies conducted in recent years reflect the obvious neglect in reading for elementary students. Thanks to some newer reading intervention curriculums, elementary students can boost their average, or in most cases, below average reading speed.

High school students can calculate their average reading speed to figure out how long it would take them to read a book for an assignment. This is especially helpful for those students who like to work under pressure by procrastinating and waiting until the night before the report is due. You can figure out how little sleep you are going to get. Or even whether or not you should fake being sick. Just do not go with a cold; that thermometer will give you away every time. Stomach viruses cannot be substantiated either way.

Doing The Math

You may, our of curiosity want to know what your average reading speed is. Find a book, or magazine that has longer, more flowing paragraphs. Stay away from anything with a lot of breaks in paragraphs. In other words, put down Cosmopolitan and try TIME magazine. You are going to be timing yourself based on how much you can read in an hour.

So you may want to get comfortable. Read until time is up, then count how many pages you were able to get through. You can approximate the number of words on a page by selecting a few random sentences and counting the words, then count the lines on that page and multiply. Next, multiply your word count by the number of pages you read and divide by sixty minutes.

For example: You read five pages in one hour that had approximately 144 words on each page. Multiplying those two numbers together equals 720, divided by 60 and you get 12. Ta-da! Your average reading speed! You can read twelve words per minute. Is this good or bad? You can check your score against others by searching online. There is software available for those who desire to increase their average reading speed.