AOL doesn't like to tell you how fast or slow it's going.
There are two things you can do, MC. Pay close attention to the sign-on screen. Very briefly you can see what the connection is. I found it one in one of AOL's sub programs, but that was version 7, haven't seen it since.
Or you can google 'Speed Test' and find a website that will check your connection speed. Some of these files they send can be big, so make sure that the site isn't sending a huge MP3 (which is how some do it)...