PTE Academic assesses real-life, academic English, so you will hear excerpts from lectures and view graphs and charts.
During the three-hour test session, there are three main parts to the test: speaking and writing (together), listening and reading.
During the test, you will find twenty different question formats, ranging from multiple choice through to essay writing and interpreting information.
There is also an optional 10-minute break between the reading and listening parts. PTE Academic assesses real-life, academic English, so you will hear excerpts from lectures and view graphs and charts. You will hear a range of accents in the test, from British and American to non-native speakers, so you will be exposed to the type of accents you will encounter in everyday life.
Part 1: Speaking & Writing
- Personal introduction
- Read aloud
- Repeat sentence
- Describe image
- Re-tell lecture
- Answer short question
- Summarize written text
- Essay (20 mins)
Part 2: Reading
- Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks
- Multiple choice, choose multiple answers
- Re-order paragraphs
- Reading: Fill in the blanks
- Multiple choice, choose single answer
Part 3: Listening
- Summarize spoken text
- Multiple choice, choose multiple answer
- Fill in the blanks
- Highlight correct summary
- Multiple choice, choose single answer
- Select missing word
- Highlight incorrect words
- Write from dictation
Understanding PTE Scores
The PTE Academic Score Report includes your overall score, communicative skills scores and enabling skills scores.
The overall score reflects your overall English language ability. The score is based on performance on all items in the test. The range for the overall score is 10-90 points.
Scores for communicative skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing) are based on all test items that assess these skills, either as a single skill or together with other skills. The range for each communicative skill score is 10-90 points.
Scores for enabling skills (grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary and written discourse) are based on all test items assessing one or more of these skills. The range for each enabling skill score is 10-90 points.
The display of the scores in a graph allows you to quickly see your strengths and weaknesses, and how each skill relates to your overall performance.
Comparison of PTE score with IELTS and TOEFL iBT
PTE Academic is scored against the Global Scale of English, a thermometer-style scale that gives you an accurate overview of your skills. The Global Scale of English aligns with a variety of popular tests and scales around the world.
Sample Test Report
