PTE Exam Pattern & Structure

The PTE Academic examination assesses candidates on their reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities. The test requires approximately 3 hours to complete. The Speaking & Writing section requires 54-67 minutes with 7 question types, including a 20-minute essay. The Reading section requires 29-30 minutes on average, with 5 question types. The Listening section takes 30-43 minutes with 8 question types. There are 20 question types in total for the PTE Academic.

The score for PTE Academic varies between 10 to 90 on the Global Scale of English, where 10 is the lowest and 90 is the highest score. The scores indicate a candidate’s proficiency at speaking, listening, writing and reading English. PTE exam lets you measure your command over the language with absolute accuracy.

It is hard to say whether PTE is easier than the IELTS exam. The IELTS and PTE examinations usually have the same levels of difficulty. Neither exam can be called comparatively easier since they both require extensive skill-sets in the English language. A 2020 report by Pearson had a comparison of PTE Academic and IELTS results. 

This indicated how aspirants needed to get a comparatively higher score in PTE Academic to be equivalent to a band score of 7.0-9.0 in IELTS. Conversely, there are schools of thought stating how PTE-Academic may be easier since it does not have any face-to-face tests, is fully machine-scored and requires lesser time to be completed. Yet, overall, both tests are equivalent to each other in terms of their difficulties.

The PTE score for Australia may vary depending on the purpose you require it for. But generally, a score of 65 and above is required for Permanent Residency (PR).
As far as admission to an Australian university is concerned, a minimum score of 42 is needed. Aspirants must practise caution and check the universities’ requirements when applying for a PTE exam. Some universities may strictly consider the score of IELTS or TOEFL exams.

Several test-takers believe that the PTE exam is tougher to crack if the preparation is not as per the syllabus provided. However, it is believed that it is easier to score in the English language proficiency exam. The structure, format and types of questions in the PTE exam stay constant, thereby, ensuring a uniform level of difficulty year after year.

As per the official information, the PTE exam results are declared within five working days from the test date. For instance, if you had taken the test on a Monday, you can expect the result by Friday, officially. But it must be noted that several aspirants have received the scores within 48 hours after taking the test.

You can attempt the PTE Test any number of times you wish. There are no limits set as to the number of attempts by candidates. The only thing is that you can book your next test date after a gap of 5 days from your last examination. Only a single test day may be booked by a candidate at one time. Remember that while you are waiting to get your PTE results (which may require anything between a few hours to seven days), you cannot book your next PTE examination date.

PTE does not have any passing marks. There is a total score threshold of 10-90. The 50-63 score is considered to be optimal or competent. For admission into leading universities abroad, you should score between 65-75 or even higher. Some universities accept PTE scores of around 65 or even lower at 55-60. However, many reputed institutions accept scores only above 75 at times. 65-75 is a good score in PTE since it is usually enough to get admission into leading universities.

Yes, 79 is a very good score in PTE. The 79-82 score range in PTE is equivalent to a band 8 score in IELTS, indicating that the candidate has an excellent level of proficiency in English, making him or her eligible for admission into postgraduate or advanced courses along with undergraduate programs at reputed universities. This level signifies that aspirants can readily understand more extensive and complicated texts and derive their inner meanings.