There is described method and apparatus for timing student reading. According to the method and system it is provided that a timer device is used to time student reading and determine a words read per minute score. According to one example embodiment of the inventive subject matter, the teacher/test administrator sits down with a student. The teacher places reading passage in front of student. The passage may indicate number of words in the passage. The teacher presses the Start/Stop button 108 on the reading timer 100 when the student starts to read. The student reads the entire passage and while they read the time taken is displayed, counting up, on display 102. The teacher presses the Start/Stop 108 button on the timer 100 when the student finishes reading the passage. The teacher uses the numeric keypad 110 on the timer 100 to reflect the number of words read by the student during the timing, and the entered reads read are displayed on the display 104. The teacher presses the Calculate button 112 which calculates the words read on a per minute basis and the number is displayed on the display 106. The teacher presses the Clear button 114 twice to erase all time and words read data.