Keyboarding in the Texas TEKS: What Each Grade Is Expected to Do (K–8)
Texas does not give you a typing speed target. That surprises many teachers the first time they read the Technology Applications standards closely. Keyboarding appears in every grade from kindergarten through Grade 8, but no section sets a words-per-minute goal. What the standards do set is a sequence: first the posture, then the keys, then touch typing, then speed and accuracy, and finally improvement measured in words per minute.
Here is that sequence, grade by grade, from the text of Chapter 126 (August 2024 update).
K–2: Posture and finding the keys
Every one of these grades has two keyboarding expectations. The first is the same each year: "practice ergonomically correct keyboarding techniques and developmentally appropriate hand and body positions." The second changes:
- Kindergarten (§126.1(c)(8)(D)–(E)): identify, locate, and practice using keys, "including letters, numbers, and special keys such as space bar and backspace."
- Grade 1 (§126.2(c)(9)(D)–(E)): the same, extended to "upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special keys such as space bar, shift, and backspace."
- Grade 2 (§126.3(c)(10)(D)–(E)): identify, locate, and practice "secondary actions of different keys such as @, #, $, and ?."
The verb is practice. Students are not expected to type fluently here. They are expected to know where things are and how to sit.
Grades 3–5: Touch keyboarding begins
Grade 3 is where the standards first say "touch keyboarding," and the verb changes from practice to demonstrate:
| Grade | Keyboarding expectation | Shortcuts expectation |
|---|---|---|
| 3 (§126.8(c)(12)(C)–(D)) | Demonstrate proper touch keyboarding techniques with accuracy and ergonomic strategies | Identify and practice keyboard or other input device shortcuts such as copy, paste, undo, closing windows |
| 4 (§126.9(c)(12)(C)–(D)) | Demonstrate proper touch keyboarding with speed and accuracy and ergonomic strategies | Identify and practice cross-curricular symbols or other input device shortcuts |
| 5 (§126.10(c)(12)(C)–(D)) | Demonstrate proper touch keyboarding with increasing speed and accuracy and ergonomic strategies | Demonstrate keyboard or other input device shortcuts with fluency |
Read the adverbs. Grade 3 asks for accuracy only. Speed enters in Grade 4. Grade 5 asks for increasing speed. A Grade 3 plan that grades students on speed is ahead of the standard.
Grades 6–8: Improvement you can measure
Grades 6, 7, and 8 use the same sentence (§126.17, §126.18, §126.19, each (c)(12)(D)): students "demonstrate improvement in speed and accuracy as measured by words per minute when applying correct keyboarding techniques." Alongside it, each grade has "select and use appropriate shortcuts within applications."
Two points about that wording:
- The standard measures improvement, not a benchmark. There is no required WPM. On its face, the standard is about growth from a student's own baseline, whatever number your district prefers.
- It is identical in all three grades. The standard does not scale in middle school. The progress itself, tracked across years, is the evidence.
What the standards leave to your district
Because the standards stop at "improvement" and never give a number, any WPM benchmark you see on a district scope and sequence is a local decision, not a TEKS requirement. If you are asked "what does the state require," the accurate answer is the sequence above. If you are asked "what does our district expect," that is in your local curriculum documents.
A related reading rule from the standards' introduction: statements with "including" reference content that must be mastered, while "such as" introduces possible examples. In kindergarten, letters, numbers, and special keys are required content, and "space bar and backspace" are examples of the special keys.
Practical ways to use this
- K–2: Spend the time on posture routines and key-finding, not speed games.
- Grade 3: Track accuracy percentage first. Introduce a timed element only in Grade 4.
- Grades 4–5: Use a repeatable short timed drill and record each student's baseline so "increasing" is documented.
- Grades 6–8: Keep a words-per-minute log per student per semester. The standard asks you to show improvement, so a baseline and a later measure are the evidence.
- All grades: Include at least one shortcut task per term (copy, paste, undo from Grade 3; fluency in Grade 5).
Free chart, and tell me what to build
Join the Sooner Standards list (free) for a free resource each week, and reply with your grade level and the keyboarding challenge you face most. I use those replies to pick the next resource.
The Texas Kindergarten through Grade 3 bundles include standalone keyboarding lessons: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3.
By Matt Cole, M.S. Information Technology and former school board member. Independent analysis of the published standards; not endorsed by the Texas Education Agency.
