Do Schulte Tables Help With Speed Reading?

What a Schulte table actually asks you to do

In a classic 5×5 Schulte table, you find the numbers 1 to 25 in order in a shuffled grid. You search for a known target, select it, and move to the next. Completion time and mistakes describe performance on that task.

Reading asks a different question: what do these words mean together? Finding a number does not test vocabulary, the reasoning in a paragraph, or whether you noticed an exception. Do not convert seconds on a grid into words per minute or treat a new grid record as evidence of better reading.

See how a Schulte table works

Choose the result you need before choosing a speed

Finish the sentence: ‘After reading, I need to be able to…’ Use that answer to decide how much detail matters. Getting through a page is not the same as getting what you need from it.

1. For an overview: skim the headings, opening and conclusion to decide which parts deserve closer reading.
2. For a specific fact: scan for the name, date or phrase, then read the surrounding passage for conditions and exceptions.
3. For understanding: read the relevant passage carefully, explain its main point and reasons, and check your explanation against the text.

Practise choosing between skimming, scanning and careful reading

Try a reading session with an answer check

Choose a short, unfamiliar section of something you actually need to read. The following is a practical self-check, not a standardized reading test or a validated training programme. You do not need a Schulte warm-up first.

1. Write down one question the passage should answer. Keep the text length and difficulty manageable.
2. Read at a comfortable pace. If you time it, include necessary rereading rather than treating it as a failure.
3. Look away. State the main point, one supporting reason, and a condition or limitation if the passage contains one.
4. Reopen the text and check each statement. Mark what was missing or inaccurate, not just what sounded familiar.
5. Repair the specific gap: look up an unfamiliar term, reread the sentence that connects two ideas, or write the exception next to your answer.

If you need to remember it later, turn your notes into recall questions

A quick example: did you keep the condition?

Read this original fictional notice, then look away and answer the questions before revealing the check. This is a practice example, not workplace guidance or a speed test.

1. What changed, and when?
2. Who can use the room?
3. Is the November extension confirmed?
4. Does the whole library stay open later?

If you remembered ‘the library closes at 9’ but missed the room, day or trial period, return to those conditions and rewrite the answer. The useful result is a correct explanation, not a fast but misleading summary.

Measure reading, not just finishing time

If you want a pace figure, use words read ÷ reading time in minutes. A 600-word passage read in 3 minutes is 200 words per minute. This is an arithmetic example, not a target or a ‘good reader’ threshold.

Record the passage, purpose, time, answer-check result and what you needed to repair. Compare several unfamiliar passages of similar length, topic, language and difficulty using the same kind of questions. Rereading the same passage is useful practice, but familiarity makes it a poor comparison for a new-text speed claim.

Finishing sooner while missing the main reason or an important condition is not a win for an understanding task. If you get stuck on terminology, work on the terms in context. If you keep losing your place, try a quieter setting and shorter sections. Change one thing and check the next passage.

Keep Schulte scores in a separate log. Even an improvement in both logs would not, by itself, show that the grid caused the reading change.

Where an optional Schulte round fits

If you want number-finding practice, try one round on a comfortable grid size and review time together with mistakes. One round is simply a small starting point, not a research-established reading dose. Skip it if your available time is better spent on the text.

Quartenson’s free trainer supports 3×3 through 7×7 grids. It measures the grid exercise, not reading comprehension. You do not need to fix your gaze rigidly or try to take in a whole page at once to use this reading routine.

Try the optional Schulte table exercise

What the reading research supports

Rayner and colleagues’ 2016 review describes a trade-off between reading speed and understanding. Large increases, such as doubling or tripling speed while preserving comprehension, are unlikely. It points to reading practice and language knowledge, including vocabulary, rather than a simple speed-reading shortcut.

Rayner et al. (2016): So Much to Read, So Little Time

This is a review of reading research, not a trial of Quartenson or proof of Schulte-to-reading transfer. The routine and fictional notice above are our practical suggestions, not exercises tested by that review.