Guidance for Wisconsin Districts
As the Wisconsin State Standards for English/Language Arts outline keyboarding proficiency and the Forward Assessment requires a certain level of skill, it is more important than ever that conversation occurs at the district level regarding keyboarding instruction and assessment.
Production & Distribution of Writing
Grade 3 students (W.3.6):
With guidance and support from adults and peers, use digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. Learn to produce writing through printing, cursive, and/or typing.
Grade 4 students (W.4.6):
With some guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. Learn to produce writing through printing, cursive, and/or typing (with sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting).
Grade 5 students (W.5.6):
With some guidance and support from adults, they intentionally select a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. Proficiently produce writing through printing, cursive, and/or typing (with sufficient comman of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting).
Wisconsin Forward Exam
The Forward Exam is a computer administered assessment and includes multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and a writing prompt in the ELA section. View the Forward Exam FAQ information for additional clarification on keyboarding requirements.
Who can teach keyboarding in WI?
Keyboarding taught in the 7-12 grades must be taught by a licensed business education teacher (1250 or 1251) OR a business education teacher with a specific license for keyboarding (previously typewriting) (265).
Keyboarding taught in grades lower than 7th grade must be taught under one of the following options:
- a business education teacher licensed for K-12
- a licensed elementary teacher instructing their own students
- a team consisting of a business education teacher licensed for grades 7-12 and the classroom teacher
If a business teacher is team teaching with the elementary classroom teacher, no additional license is required.
How fast should kids type?
As a general rule, keyboarding speeds should be measured as “5 words per minute (wpm) x grade level”. Therefore, a student in third grade should have a goal of at least 15 words per minute.
Gaining pedagogy on HOW to teach keyboarding
- Team teach with a Business and Information Technology educator
- Utilize current district Business and Information Technology staff for in-service or professional development
- Work with a Business and Information Technology educator from another district to provide regional in-service or professional development
- Take skill coursework from a local technical college
- Take pedagogy coursework from a university (summer offerings are currently being developed)
Integrated keyboarding instruction strategies
- Set aside a regular time for keyboarding (ideally 15 to 30 minutes/day for five to six weeks), THEN:
- USE these techniques while in front of any computer
- Have students type their social studies assignment or spelling words for the week
- Include a five minute "warm-up" using a keyboarding game before "getting down to keying in a paper"
- Have students compose A to Z lists (ie. Animals, girls names, etc.)
- Rotate and develop stories from "Story Starters…"