Accuracy and precision: 40 items in 6 minutes

5 min read · updated October 2026

The accuracy and precision test used for secretaries and clerks is a pure speed test: 40 items in six minutes, about nine seconds each. Each item shows a reference record and a copy, a statement about a table, or two lists, and asks which element is wrong, or how many match.

The discrepancies you will meet

• Transposed digits (847,600 vs 874,600) and swapped day and month in dates.
• Look-alike characters: 0 and O, 1 and l, and doubled or dropped letters in names.
• A total off by exactly 10 or 100, or a percentage inconsistent with its row.
• Codes that differ by one character in a list of near-duplicates.

Technique

1. Compare field by field, not glance by glance. Point with the cursor or a finger.
2. Read numbers in groups of two or three digits; read names letter by letter only when the first pass finds nothing.
3. Never leave an item blank: there is no negative marking, so guess when the nine seconds are up.
4. Decide your pace in advance: at nine seconds per item, the 20th item should be done at the three-minute mark.

The timed test enforces the six-minute limit; use practice mode to learn the formats first.