PTE- Everything you Need to Know

What is PTE? Who owns PTE?

PTE is a globally recognized English proficiency test and is one of the world’s leading providers of secure English language tests. Pearson Test for English (PTE) is a group keen to assess and validate the English Language of Non-native speakers. PTE Academic is a totally computer-based English language test.

PTE Academic was launched by Pearson Language Tests, owned by Pearson PLC Group in 2009, and it was endorsed by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the organization responsible for Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

PTE Academic is the fastest computer-based English language proficiency test that is accepted and trusted by universities, colleges, and governments all across the globe.

Which countries accept PTE?

PTE is accepted by native English countries like Australia, the USA, the UK, New Zealand, and Canada. Several other countries like Spain, France, Germany, South Africa, Poland, Argentina, Italy, Japan, Brazil, and more also accept PTE scores.

PTE Academic is accepted by more than 3,000 institutions worldwide.

Types of PTE tests:

PTE Academic:

It is the PTE test you will need to take if you are planning to work or study abroad. You can take this test all year round and is conveniently available. This test is computer-based and is accessed at a secure exam center.

PTE General:

Although PTE general is conducted, it is not used as an English proficiency test. It is only conducted for rewarding brilliant achievements in learning the English language. It is only available 3 times a year; May, June, and December. This test has a written paper and a spoken test.

This blog focuses mostly on PTE Academic.

What type of PTE test do You have to take?

The type of PTE test you need to take will depend on what are you applying for.

If you applying for a student visa or work visa then you should choose PTE Academic or PTE Academic UKVI test.

If you are applying for family and work visas, then you can select one of the PTE Home tests PTE provides. They are PTE Home A1, PTE Home A2, and PTE Home B1.

You can learn more about PTE test types on the website.

Difference between improvised PTE test format compared to the previous PTE test format

The improvised test format has comparatively fewer test items. As mentioned earlier, the test items have been reduced from 70-82 to 52-64. The changes made can be viewed here,

PTE Academic Test Format

There are three parts to the PTE test:

Part 1:  Speaking and Writing

Part 2: Reading

Part 3: Listening

You will see slight changes in the time consumed for a PTE Academic test. It is due to changes made for improvements in the test on November 2021. The test format remains the same but the test time has been reduced to 2 hours from 3 hours by reducing the number of questions. The test items (questions) have been reduced from 70-82 to 52-64.

PTE Speaking and Writing:

In this part of the test, you will be tested on your PTE Speaking and Writing skills. It is the longest part of the test consuming around 54-67 minutes. This part of the test contains seven different question types and you will be tested in English is commonly used in an academic environment.

1. Personal introduction

In this part of the test, you will have 25 seconds to read the prompt and prepare your response and 30 seconds to record your response. (You can only record your answer once) This part of the test is not scored but it will be sent to the institutions selected by you, along with your score report. So, this will also act as a great opportunity for you to give your information to your selected institutions.

2. Read Aloud

Here, you will have 30-40 seconds to read the text that appears on the screen and prepare. The texts can be up to 60 words long. The timer counts down till the microphone opens with a short tone. You have to speak immediately after the tone because if you remain silent for more than 3 seconds, the recording will stop.

Be careful not to speak before the microphone opens, as your voice won’t be recorded. While speaking, remember to speak clearly. There is no need to rush, but do speak before the progress bar changes from “Recording” to “Completed”. There is no specific time limit to this part as the time varies according to the length of the text.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading
• Speaking

3. Repeat Sentence

During this test, the audio plays automatically, the length of the text will be around 3-9 seconds long and you will be given approximately 15 seconds to answer. As soon as the audio finishes, start speaking into the microphone and repeat exactly what you have heard.

There is no short tone unlike in the Read aloud test. Remember to speak clearly before the progress bar changes to “Completed”. You will hear the recording only once and will be allowed to record your response once.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Speaking

4. Describe Image

An image will appear before your screen and the very image should be described. You will have 25 seconds to analyze a picture and prepare the answer. After 25 seconds, you will hear a short tone indicating you to speak. After the tone, you will have 40 seconds to describe the image in detail before the progress bar changes to “Completed”

You can only record your answer once so you should speak clearly.

Skills Assessed:

• Speaking

5. Re-tell the Lecture

Here, you have to re-tell the lectures you heard or watched in your own words. You will have 40 seconds to answer, and a lecture can be up to 90 seconds long. The audio of the lecture will begin to play automatically, there may be an image shown related to the audio on the screen.  After the audio ends, you will have 10 seconds. Then, you will hear a tone that indicates you are to speak.

Speak clearly and finish before the progress bar reaches the end to “Completed”. You can only record your answer once so you should speak clearly. In this test, you can take notes on the erasable note board while the audio plays.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Speaking

6. Answer Short Question

In this part, you will listen to a question, and you have 10 seconds to answer.  The audio will play automatically, and you any also see an image. There is no short tone, so answer right after the audio finishes. You can answer in one or a few words.

You should finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end, and you can only record your response once.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Speaking

7. Summarize the Written Text

Here, you will have to summarize a text that may be up to 300 words long into a single full sentence. You will have 10 minutes to answer this question, and the answer must be no longer than 75 words long. To excel in this test, you need to practice your skills for using compound and complex sentences.

The word count for this test will be bottom of the screen. You may also use cut, copy and paste from the text with the cut, copy, and paste button available.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading
• Writing

8. Essay

For this question type, you will have to write an essay on a given topic or a prompt. You will have 20 minutes to write a 200–300word argumentative essay as a response to the prompt. Analyze the prompt well before you answer the question. Find out the topic, key points, and the point of view you should present.

There will be a word counter on the screen, and you can use cut, copy and paste while constructing your response.

Skills Assessed:

• Writing

For More:- PTE Speaking and Writing

PTE Reading

In this part of the test, you will be tested on your PTE Reading skills, a part of the “Reading and Writing: Fill in the blanks” will also access your writing skills. This part of the test will take be around 29-30 minutes long.

1. Reading and Writing: Fill in the Gaps

In this test, you will be given a text which will be up to 300 words long. The text will appear on the screen with several gaps. Besides each gap, there is a drop-down list that reveals a list of options for the gap. The task for you is to select the option that best fills the gap.

You can change your answer if you find a different option appropriate. You should read the texts around the gap and skim around the options to choose the best one.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading
• Writing

2. Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer

Here, you will have to answer multiple-choice questions after reading a passage that will be up to 300 words. In this question, there is more than one correct response, so select all the viable answers.

You can select and deselect an option while answering, and the selected answers will be highlighted in yellow.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading

3. Re-Order Paragraphs

In this part of the test, several textboxes will appear on the screen arranged in random order, you, the test taker have to re-arrange the boxes in the correct order. The text is about 150 words long and it is advised to read all the text before re-arranging.

The text box can be re-arranged by selecting a box, dragging it across the screen from the left panel, and placing them in the right order in the right panel.  While arranging, you can also use the up and down buttons on the right panel.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading

4. Fill in the Blanks

A text will appear on your screen with multiple gaps in it, you will have a list of all possible words that you can use to fill the gaps in a blue box. There will be more words in the blue box, so you won’t be using all the given words. To fill in the gaps, you will have to drag the words from the blue box to the correct gap.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading

5. Multiple Choice, Single Answer

This question type is similar to Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers. You will have to read a text that is about 300 words and answer a multiple-choice answer but the difference is there is only one correct answer.

Select the answer that is the most viable. The selected text will be highlighted in yellow; you can select and deselect options while answering.

Skills Assessed:

• Reading

For More:- PTE Reading

PTE Listening

In this part of the test, you will be tested on your PTE Listening skills and your skills to analyze and sort out information will be of great help in the test. This test will be about 30-43 minutes long and will contain eight different question types. You will be allowed to take notes during the test when the audio or video clips are playing.

1. Summarize Spoken text

For this question type, you will have to write a 50-70 word long summary after listening to an audio recording. You have 10 minutes to listen and write the summary.

The audio will play automatically and it will be played only once. While writing the summary, make sure to summarize the main point and include supporting points within the 50-70 words.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Writing

2. Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

For Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer in listening you will hear an audio recording to which the test taker must answer by selecting more than one option.  You need to select all the viable responses to the context.

The options you select as answers will be highlighted in yellow. Understand the audio, and select your answers carefully.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening

3. Fills in the Blanks

Here, you will be given a transcript of the audio but some words from the transcript will be missing leaving gaps in it. You need to fill in the gaps after listening to the audio. You will be able to hear the audio once and it will be played automatically.

You can also write the answers in the erasable note board booklet and fill in the gaps later after the audio ends. It is advised to skim the transcript before the audio starts, as it can help to recognize the words to fill in the gaps.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Writing

4. Highlight Correct Summary

In this test, you will hear an audio recording from which multiple summaries are given for you to choose from. But only one of the summaries is correct for the audio played. It is recommended to listen first and write notes on the erasable note board for selecting the best matching summary for the audio.

You will hear the audio only once and, the audio will be played automatically. Your selected summary will be highlighted in yellow.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Reading

5. Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Similar to Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer, you will listen to an audio recording. There are several possible answers in the options but only one of them is correct. The response you choose will be highlighted in yellow.

You will be able to hear the audio once and it will be played automatically.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Reading

6. Select the Missing Word

In this test type, the last word or a group of words in the recording is replaced by a beep sound in the audio. The test taker must select the most appropriate answer from the given options. There are several possible answers in the options but only one of them is correct.

Your answer will be highlighted in yellow and can be changed until click next. As usual, the audio will be played only once.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening

7. Highlight Incorrect Words

In this test, you will be given a transcript of the audio you hear. The transcript however has some errors. Some of the words on the transcript will be different from the audio you will hear. You need to select the word in the text that is different from the audio.

The audio will be played only once and the answer you select will be highlighted in yellow. It is recommended to read the transcription before you listen to the audio. Also, try to follow the text with the cursor as you listen.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Reading

8. Write from Dictation

For this question type, you will hear a short sentence that has to be typed as-is for the answer. Type as many correct words as you can remember from the audio and also remember to check your spellings.

You will have to type the sentence into the response box at the bottom of the screen. Also, try to write on the erasable note board provided while the audio plays. Take notes carefully, the audio will be played only once.

Skills Assessed:

• Listening
• Reading

For More:- PTE Listening

PTE Scoring guidelines

Overall score

You will receive your overall score based on the test taker’s performance on the entire test. The test score will range from 10 to 90 points, this is the final score of all the sections of the test: speaking and writing, reading, and listening.

The total score is calculated out of 90 but the lowest score is 10. You will never receive a Zero on your test, but remember 10 PTE score is equivalent to a ZERO. This also means, your total exam is only of 80 points.

How is the PTE test scored?

The PTE test is an integrated test where the scores between each section are shared, meaning from the listening section, the test taker can get scores in reading and writing as well. PTE has integrated skill tasks as most of the tasks access more than one skill, this test is flexible as such.

The scoring of the test is done by machines, the human expert scorer trains the system of the machine to a standard scoring based on which the machines score the PTE tests. Some of the tests are also some simple correct and incorrect questions. There are two ways scores are awarded:

• Correct and Incorrect
• Partial Credit

Here is a simple scoring chart, the shown awarded scores may vary as the question pattern change in PTE with each test. Sometimes you may get more question items in retell lecture, sometimes it may be so in some other question types. Thus, the scores shown here is a rough estimation and thus isn’t exact.

PTE Speaking

PTE Writing

PTE Reading

PTE Listening

Thus each section of the test will contribute 80 points regardless of the question pattern.

If you wish to learn more, click here.

Which part of the PTE Academic test uses negative marking?

PTE tests use negative marking in three of the question in the test; Multiple Choice-Multiple Answers of reading part, Multiple Choice-Multiple Answers of listening part, and Highlight Incorrect Words of the listening part.

What does your PTE scores say about your English Proficiency?

When will you get your PTE results?

PTE results will be available within 5 business days, but it is indeed true that most test-takers receive their test results as fast as within 2 days.

How many times can a person take a PTE test?

A person can take a PTE test as many times as a person wants, there are no limitations to the amount of PTE tests taken by a person. However, the person can take the test within 5 days gap.

How long will the PTE test be valid?

The PTE Academic is valid for 2 years from the day you receive your results.

What are the eligibility necessities for the PTE test?

There are no eligibility necessities such as academic qualifications for one to take the test however there is an age limit. The test taker must be above the age of 16 and the test takers who are below the age of 18 must possess a parental consent form to be eligible.

How much does a PTE test cost?

For the PTE test, you will need to pay a fee of about $150-$180 USD.

Here is a chart for the fee cost of each PTE Test,

In Nepal, you will also have to bear an additional cost of 15% USD Tax and Bank Charge.

When and where can one give PTE test?

You can check the test center and dates available on PTE Pearson’s official website.

On the website, you can sign up by creating an account with Pearson.

Sign in, and proceed according to your requirements.

Once you are directed to this page, enter your location or just click Use Current Location. Then press Search.

On this page, you can find the nearest test center. You can also choose the date and time from the options given. Choose them according to your preferences.

Recheck the information and proceed further. Then, pay for the test. After the payment, your order for the test booking will be confirmed and a confirmation screen for your order will appear.

How is the PTE test taken?

PTE Academic is taken on a computer at the PTE test center. In the center, usually, 10-15 people will be taking the test. The test will be conducted within 2 hours and 15 minutes. The test taker should arrive 30 minutes before the test to check-in and sit for the test.

Can you reschedule the PTE test date?

Yes, you can but a few conditions do apply.

If you reschedule the test before 14 calendar days of your test date, you don’t have to pay anything.

But if you reschedule the test in less than 14 calendar days but before 7 calendar days, you are required to pay 50% of your PTE test fee.

You are required to pay full exam fees if you reschedule the test in less than 7 calendar days.

Can you cancel the PTE test you booked?

Yes, you can cancel the booked PTE test but conditions will apply.

If you cancel the test before 14 calendar days of your test date, you will get a full refund.

If you cancel the test in less than 14 calendar days but before 7 calendar days, you will only receive 50% of your test fee.

You will not receive any refund if you cancel the test in less than 7 calendar days.

Why take a PTE test?

There are many proficiency tests like IELTS, TOFEL, and SAT… Here are a few reasons to choose PTE over them:

• It has an unbiased and impartial scoring system; the PTE Academic is a computer-based test and is scored by an AI program.
• It is easier to register for the PTE test, to register one can fill in the online application which is a lot more convenient and faster.
• The results of the are declared a lot quicker than any other test, within only 5 working days.
• One can easily score higher, PTE uses an integrated scoring system, meaning each section has different types of questions which contributes to partial credit for 2 sections.

How is PTE different from IELTS?

• PTE is completely computer-based while IELTS can be both paper-based and computer-based.
• PTE calculates all of your skills together as the test format is made in a way that all sections are interrelated to one another. On the other hand, IELTS access your skills separately with specific skills.
• The results for PTE will be released within 5 days while the results for IELTS will be released after 13 days of your test days.
• PTE tends to be broader as the test is not only migration-based, the test trains for general purposes as well. IELTS, on the contrary, only focuses on migration purposes.

Here is a score comparison between PTE Academic Scores and IELTS band scores,

If you wish to learn more about IELTS, our blog on IELTS will help you.