[Learn](/learn/) / Accuracy at speed # Why does typing accuracy fall when you type faster? A lower accuracy score at higher speed shows a trade-off, not its cause. The useful next question is whether errors concentrate in one repeated key pair or scatter across the passage. By PeakTock Updated August 17, 2026 In one minute ## Change the pace, not the test conditions Use the same keyboard, layout, and test length for both runs. The controlled run gives you a baseline; the faster run shows whether its errors concentrate in one transition or remain scattered across the passage. ## 1\. The PeakTock conclusion to look for After a faster test Faster-test result ### PeakTock names one pair **Conclusion:** the faster run contains one qualifying repeated transition. Practise that pair, then retest. Keep the claim limited to this result. ### PeakTock names no pair **Conclusion:** there is not enough evidence for one cause in this test. Keep the result as a comparison point. Do not select a random key drill from one bad run. A repeated pair is more useful than a general instruction to “be more accurate.” It is a specific movement that PeakTock observed in your typing. For example, if it flags in the faster run, the conclusion is about the movement from T to H, not that either key is always slow. ## 2\. Let PeakTock test the conclusion 1. 01**Set a normal baseline**Take the 60-second test at a pace you can control. Note its WPM and accuracy. 2. 02**Push pace once**Take another test on the same keyboard and layout. Type faster, but do not deliberately create errors. 3. 03**Read the result**If the faster result identifies a qualifying repeated pair, use the drill that the result offers. If it does not, stop there and gather another comparable result later. __Record the evidence from both tests__ | Check | Controlled test | Faster test | | ---------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | | WPM | Record the result | Record the result | | Accuracy | Record the result | Record the result | | Named pair | Use only if PeakTock names one | Use only if PeakTock names one | The browser test finds a repeated pattern inside one tested passage. It does not compare every session automatically, diagnose a physical cause, or prove that a named pair explains every error. ## 3\. Use the exact drill, not a generic exercise The pair drill changes the sample: every word contains the named transition. This gives that movement more attempts than a page of unrelated keys. Keep the pair order accurate, then take a new normal typing test to see whether the same pattern returns. If the pair does not return, that does not prove it is permanently fixed. It only means this test did not reproduce the same evidence. Treat each new result on its own evidence. ## 4\. When the Mac app gives the stronger answer Use [PeakTock for Mac](/mac/) when this happens in normal work, not only in a test. It learns from your own typing over time and can flag when accuracy falls as pace rises. That is a better signal for a repeating work pattern than one browser passage, but it is still coaching guidance, not a medical or ergonomic diagnosis. The web test and Mac app use different models. The web test has a US-QWERTY key-difficulty model; the Mac app measures personal speed, accuracy, consistency, and evidence. Read the [web test methodology](/learn/typing-test-methodology/) and [Mac methodology](/learn/mac-methodology/) before you compare their scores directly. ## Why inspect a transition? A large online typing study found that finger and hand use across letter pairs helped predict typing speed: [Dhakal et al. (2018)](https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3174220). The study used volunteers and cannot explain an individual result. PeakTock’s conclusion comes from the keystrokes it measured in your test, subject to its evidence gate; it does not use this research as proof of your personal cause. --- Canonical HTML: