About the PTE

The PTE-A (Pearson Test of English – Academic) is a standardized exam given around the world whose purpose is twofold:

• to evaluate the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English;
• to predict the degree of success those people will have in an English-speaking academic environment.

One of the outstanding features of the PTE-A is its proprietary automated scoring software. All questions, including those testing Writing and Speaking, are scored automatically, through machines/software schooled in what humans know and look for in responses but remaining forever impartial and never getting tired.

The fact that the entire exam is machine-scored has several interesting consequences:

• for candidates:  scores are available typically in five business days.
• for institutions screening candidates: score reports are quite complete, providing four separate scores for the communicative skills of speaking, writing, reading and listening, but also scores in “enabling skills” such as grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.

More on scores: The PTE-A score range is from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 90.

To see a TOEFL and IELTS equivalence ruler – click here.

Score reports: Candidates may request score reports to institutions after seeing their scores on the Secure Score Reporting Website. You can request as many reports as you like, free of charge. If you take the test more than once, your entire score history will always appear.

Length: The entire PTE-A is approximately three hours long.