PTE Academic assesses listening, reading, speaking and writing all via computer in a single 3-hour test session.

To complete a PTE Academic test, you will need to attend a secure Pearson test centre. You will use a computer and headset to listen to, read and respond to questions.

During the three-hour test session, there will be three main parts to the test: speaking and writing (together), listening and reading. There are twenty different question formats, ranging from multiple choice through to essay writing and interpreting information.

PTE Academic assesses real-life, academic content, 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.

Each section is individually timed and the timer will be in the top right corner of the screen and will be counting down the remaining time.

PART 1: SPEAKING & WRITING (77 – 93 minutes)

• Personal Introduction
• Read aloud
• Repeat sentence
• Describe image
• Re-tell lecture
• Answer short question
• Summarize written text (one sentence)
• Essay (20mins)

PART 2: READING (32 – 41 minutes)

• Multiple-choice questions
• Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers 
• Re-order paragraphs
• Fill in the blanks
• Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks 

A ten-minute break is optional

PART 3: LISTENING (45 – 57 minutes)

• Summarize spoken text
• Multiple choice questions
• Fill the blanks
• Highlight the correct summary
• Multiple choice questions
• Select missing word
• Highlight incorrect words
• Write from dictation

How PTE is scored

The PTE Academic test is scored against the Global Scale of English, includes overall score, communicative skills scores and enabling skills scores. 

• Overall score: The overall score is an accurate snapshot of the performance of the test-taker on a scale of 10 – 90 on all items in the test. Each candidate does between 70 and 91 items in any given test and there are 20 different item types. For each item, the score given contributes to the overall score. The score ranges from 10–90 points.
• Communicative skills scores: The communicative skills measured are listening, reading, speaking and writing. Items testing these communicative skills also test specific subskills. For integrated skills items (that is, those assessing reading and speaking, listening and speaking, reading and writing, listening and writing, or listening and reading) the item score contributes to the score for the communicative skills that the item assesses. The score range for each skill is 10–90 points.
• Enabling skills scores: The enabling skills are used to rate performance in the productive skills of speaking and writing. The enabling skills measured are grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, and written discourse. The scores for enabling skills are based on performance on only those items that assess these skills specifically. The score range for each skill is 10–90 points.

Scores for item types assessing speaking and writing skills are generated by automated scoring systems. There are two types of scoring:

Correct or incorrect

Some item types are scored as either correct or incorrect. If responses are correct, a score of 1 score point will be given, but if they are incorrect, no score points are awarded.

Partial creditOther item types are scored as correct, partially correct or incorrect. If responses to these items are correct, the maximum score points available for each item type will be received, but if they are partly correct, some score points will be given, but less than the maximum available for the item type. If responses are incorrect, no score points will be received.

Official Website: http://www.pearsonpte.com

Score Validity: 2 years

Mode of Registration: Telephone / Mail/ Online

Rescheduling Fee:  INR 2,725/

Test Administration Frequency : 363 days a year at PTE Test Centres

Test Fee: Standard Price : INR 13,300 (Plus applicable taxes – 18% GST)

Late Booking Price: INR 12,819 (Plus applicable taxes – 18% GST)

Mode of payment : Debit card/ Credit card/ Voucher

Score Reporting time: Approximately 5 days

Nature of Test : Computer Based Test

Extra Score Reporting Fee: Nil

How many times can I take the test?

A. You may take the PTE Academic as many times as you wish, however you must prepare well before you book your next test.

Should I register directly with the test centre?

A. No. You may register for the test either by online or phone through the call centre.

Can I send my scores to the institutions online?

A. Yes, you may send your score to unlimited number of institutions without any extra charge. You will also receive an email confirmation once the score is reported to the institution. It takes about 48 hours for the scores to be reported to institutions.

For further information, please contact our counsellor.