PTE Marking System

The benefits of PTE scoring system

 Since no human is involved, there is complete elimination of bias.
 Unlike IELTS, there is no one-on-one interview with the examiner, which may be
stressful for some.
 Typing instead of writing suits people with bad handwriting.
 It is easy to plan your preparation according to the limited metrics used by the
computer.

What is a good PTE score?

Each immigration and education provider sets its own English language requirement. So,
the chart below may not apply to specific circumstances.

46 and above for student visa for the UK and Australia

46 and above for undergraduate studies

56 and above for postgraduate studies

66 and above for technical subjects like Nursing and Engineering

84 and above for the maximum PR points in Canada and Australia

How reliable is the PTE test of English?

In statistics, a test-retest reliability score is expressed between 0 and 1, with 0 being a
completely unreliable test and 1 being a totally reliable test. Values of 0.90 or higher are
required for a test to be useful in human assessment.

Research has shown that the reliability coefficient of PTE test is between 0.91 and 0.97.

There is, however, a margin of error in these scores. The standard error of measurement
for PTE is 2.32.
PTE Score Format: Understanding Enabling Skills scores

Enabling Skills highlight the ability of individuals to communicate in spoken or

written English.

Grammar means your competence to apply correct language in the sentences

you use in your answers. It checks grammatical structures, in relation to things
like subject-verb agreement and word order, as well as the ability to use complex
language.

Oral Fluency checks your delivery of speech in the Speaking section and whether
it is smooth and naturally-paced.

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Pronunciation is the skill to be understood while producing speech sounds. A
regular user of the English language should easily understand your words.
Variations in pronunciations and accents depending on location are acceptable as
long as they are correctly understood.

Spelling is straightforward. Words should be written (typed, to be more exact)

based on the dictionary version of either American or British English.

Vocabulary means making an appropriate choice of words and showing a range

of your lexical resource. For example, the sentence “He was watching television”
is more appropriate than “He was looking television.” Similarly, to show range,
instead of repeating the same word over and over again in your answers, it is
better to use synonyms.

Written Discourse judges your structure of answers in terms of logical

development and meaning of your points or arguments.

Sample of writing score given by PTE software

Question
Answer 1

Machine score: 8.18 out of 14.

In PTE terms, this would be around 53 out of 90, which is the average level of
academic English.

Answer 2
Machine score: 9.84 out of 14.

In PTE terms, this would be around 64 out of 90, which is the level of an
independent and confident user of English.

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Answer 3
Machine score: 13.23 out of 14.

In PTE terms, this would be around 85 out of 90, which is the level of an advanced
and expert user of English.

PTE Marking System: Evaluation of speaking

Pearson’s Ordinate technology is at play in scoring the speaking portion of the

PTE test. Factors such as speed and rhythm of speech, alongside voice
quality, intonation, word choice, and pronunciation are taken into account
by the computer.

Sample of speaking score given by PTE software

Question
Answer 1

https://youtu.be/xt9jZWnOqHo (Playback on other websites has been disabled by

the video owner, so you have to open this link manually.)

Machine score: 4.72 out of 15.

In PTE terms, this would be around 28 out of 90, which is a very basic level of
academic English.

Answer 2

https://youtu.be/xSypJ-nVl-Y (Playback on other websites has been disabled by

the video owner, so you have to open this link manually.)
Machine score: 9.49 out of 15.

In PTE terms, this would be around 57 out of 90, which is the level of an
independent user of English.

Answer 3

https://youtu.be/XQs84fFhVYI (Playback on other websites has been disabled by

the video owner, so you have to open this link manually.)

Machine score: 10.75 out of 15.

In PTE terms, this would be around 65 out of 90, which is the level of an
independent and confident user of English.

PTE marking system in short

1. Some questions have a single short correct answer. A correct answer gets 1
point, while an incorrect answer gets no point. This applies to questions like
Answer Short Question and Fill in the Blanks.
2. Some questions require a specific form of answer. For example, the Write
Essay question in the Writing Section mandates that answers be within the
word limit of 200 to 300 words. Partial score is given if the answer is over or
under the requirement.
3. Quality of response is the third factor used to score Speaking and Writing
answers. The score is based on English language skills such as grammar,
oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, and written discourse.
Remember that the score you get in the test is not marks but a scale. Unlike
traditional exams, you are not asked several questions worth 90 marks. The total
number of marks for all the questions is not fixed, as the number of questions
that each test taker gets is different. Your raw scores are converted into a scale of
10 to 90 by computer algorithm.
How to interpret PTE scores?
PTE result is presented in the form of a number between 10 and 90. This is based on the
Global Scale of English, where 10 is the lowest score assigned for simply sitting the
test without answering anything, while 90 is the maximum anyone can score.

According to the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR), a

PTE score between 30 and 42 falls in the A2 level, designated to a basic user of English,
who can understand and communicate in simple situations only.

A score from 43 to 58 is equivalent to the B1 level of CEFR. This means the individual
can cope in academic as well as employment environments where English language is
used.

Test takers who score more than 59 and under 75 are independent users of English who
can understand complex technical or abstract concepts with a fair degree of fluency and
spontaneity. This is the B2 level of CEFR.

The C1 level is reserved for scores from 76 to 84. People at this level can flexibly and
effectively use and understand the English language in any situation.

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Lastly, a PTE score upward of 84 falls under the C2 level of CEFR. These are highly
proficient users of English who can easily understand almost everything in English and
are skilled at communicating in fluent and precise manner.
 Are all questions equally important in PTE Marking System?
No.
Four question types: Repeat sentence, Write from dictation, Reading and Writing: Fill in the blanks,
and Read aloud are the most important questions in terms of marks because more than 50 percent of
your total score depends on these four.
If you perform well in these questions, you can be assured to get a very good overall
score. Refer to the table below to see the weightage of individual question type.

Number % of
Question
of Speaking score Writing score Reading score Listening score Total
type
questions score

Repeat
10 – 12 32.1 19.7 14.39
sentence

Write from
3–4 26.8 19.7 12.92
dictation

Reading and
writing: Fill 5–6 22.3 22.1 12.33
in the blanks

Read aloud 6–7 22.2 22.1 12.31

Summarize
1–2 11.9 13.1 6.94
spoken text

Describe
3–4 22.2 6.17
image

Re-tell
1–2 11.1 9.9 5.81
lecture

Summarize
1–2 10.4 10.3 5.75
written text

Highlight
incorrect 2–3 8.9 7.9 4.64
words

Reading: Fill
4–5 14.8 4.11
in the blanks

Listening: 2–3 7.4 6.6 3.88

Fill in the
 Number % of
Question
of Speaking score Writing score Reading score Listening score Total
type
questions score

blanks

Write essay 1–2 11.2 3.11

Answer short
5–6 2.4 6.6 2.50
question

Re-order
2–3 5.8 1.64
paragraph

Reading:
Multiple
choice,
1–2 3.0 0.83
choose
multiple
answers

Highlight
correct 1–2 1.5 1.3 0.77
summary

Listening:
Multiple
choice,
1–2 2.6 0.72
choose
multiple
answers

Reading:
Multiple
choice, 1–2 1.5 0.41
choose single
answer

Listening:
Multiple
choice, 1–2 1.3 0.36
choose single
answer

Select
1–2 1.3 0.36
missing word
 Number % of
Question
of Speaking score Writing score Reading score Listening score Total
type
questions score

100
Total 90 90 90 90
%

The complete PTE Score Guide 2023 for all 20 question types
in PTE
Speaking

Question
PTE Marking system
type

Each word from the question is one mark for Content. Inserting, omitting,
or replacing the words is an error.
Read aloud
Pronunciation and Oral Fluency each are assigned a score from 0 to 5,
with 5 being native-like use of the language and 0 being unrecognizable or
inarticulate English.

Repeat You get 3 out of 3 in Content, if you repeat all the words from the question.
sentence 2 out of 3 is for 50 percent correct, while 1 out of 3 is for 25 percent
correct. Less than that is 0.
 Pronunciation and Oral Fluency each are assigned a score from 0 to 5,
with 5 being native-like use of the language and 0 being unrecognizable or
inarticulate English.

Content is scored on a scale of 0 to 5. An answer which covers all the

relevant parts of the image and their relationships and implications gets 5.
The more elements from the image you fail to describe, the lower your
Describe score will be.
image
Pronunciation and Oral Fluency each are assigned a score from 0 to 5,
with 5 being native-like use of the language and 0 being unrecognizable or
inarticulate English.

Content is scored on a scale of 0 to 5. An answer which covers all the

relevant aspects of the lecture and their relationships and conclusions gets
5. The more points from the lecture you fail to describe, the lower your
Re-tell score will be.
lecture
Pronunciation and Oral Fluency each are assigned a score from 0 to 5,
with 5 being native-like use of the language and 0 being unrecognizable or
inarticulate English.

Answer
short 1 for a correct answer. 0 for a wrong answer.
question

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The criteria for Pronunciation and Oral Fluency in detail

Pronunciation

The speech sounds should be easily comprehensible to common users

5 Native-like of the English language, with appropriate stress placed within words as
well as at the sentence level.

The pronunciation is understandable but there are minor errors in vowel

4 Advanced
sounds, consonant sounds, and stress.
 Mostly correct pronunciation, but errors in consonant sounds and stress
3 Good
may make some words difficult to understand.

Consistent mispronunciation of words with about a third of the answer

2 Intermediate
being unintelligible.

1 Intrusive Listeners find it difficult to understand two thirds of the speech.

Non- More than half of the response cannot be understood at all.

0
English Pronunciation and stress are used in a non-English manner.

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Oral Fluency

A smooth rhythm of speech with appropriate phrasing, and enunciation

5 Native-like like a native speaker of English. No repetitions, no hesitations, and no
false starts.

An acceptable rhythm of speech with appropriate phrasing, and very

4 Advanced minor enunciation variation from a native speaker. There should not be
more than one hesitation and one repetition.

Uneven speech but continuous without long pauses. More than one
3 Good
hesitation and a few repetitions.

Uneven speech with only one long pause. No more than three
2 Intermediate
hesitations and repetitions.

Unnatural phrasing of words. Multiple long pauses, along with multiple

1 Limited
hesitations and repetitions.

0 Non-user Gaps between words or incorrect word emphasis make meaning

difficult to understand. A lot of pauses, hesitations, repetitions, and
 false starts.

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Writing

Question
PTE Marking system
type

Content score goes from 0 to 2, depending on whether the relevant

aspects of the question are covered or missed.

Form: you get 1 mark for writing a single sentence between 5 and 75
words; 0 for an incomplete sentence, or more than one sentence, or
writing under or beyond the word limit.
Summarize
written text
Grammar: 2 for no grammatical errors; 1 for some grammatical errors but
without failure to communicate message; 0 for multiple faulty sentence
structures.

Vocabulary: 2 for appropriate word choices; 1 for few errors; 0 for

multiple errors.

Write essay Content has a maximum score of 3 depending on the relevance of the
response to the question.

Form: an essay between 200 and 300 words gets 2 out of 2 marks. If the
essay is between 120 and 199 words or between 301 and 380 words, you
get 1 mark. An essay shorter than 120 words or longer than 380 words
gets no score in this criterion.

Development, structure, and coherence: there is a maximum score of 2

based on the overall format of the essay and the link between paragraphs.

Grammar: 2 for consistently correct grammatically complex sentences; 1

for some grammatical error but without failure to communicate message;
0 for multiple faulty sentence structures.

General linguistic range: a maximum of 2 marks based on the ability to

express ideas with clarity and precision.

Vocabulary range has 2 marks reserved for answers with a wide variety
of words, phrases, and idioms.
 Spelling: 2 out 2 if there is no spelling error. 1 out of 2 for one spelling
error, while 0 out of 2 for more than one spelling errors.

Reading

Question type PTE Marking system

Reading and
writing: Fill in 1 mark for each correct answer in the blank.
the blanks

1 mark for each correct choice. 1 mark is deducted for making an

Multiple-choice, incorrect choice. For an instance, if the correct answers are options ‘A’
choose multiple and ‘B’ but you selected ‘A’ and ‘C’, then you get +1 for A and -1 for
answers C, which means you get 0 overall. Making multiple errors will not
reduce your score below 0.

1 mark for each set of two correct answers. For example, if the correct
Re-order sequence is A-B-C-D-E and your answer is A-C-B-D-E, there is only
paragraphs set of two correct answers: D and E. So, you get 1 mark. Although A is
correct, it does not get any score because it is not part of a correct pair.

Reading: Fill in
1 mark for each correct word in the blank.
the blanks

Multiple choice:
choose single 1 mark for each correct choice
answer

Listening

Question type PTE Marking system

Summarize Content score goes from 0 to 2, depending on whether the relevant

 aspects of the lecture are covered or missed.

Form: a summary between 50 and 70 words gets 2 out of 2 marks. If

the summary is between 40 and 49 words or between 71 and 100
words, you get 1. An answer shorter than 40 words or longer than 100
words gets no score in this criterion, as does an answer without
punctuation marks.

spoken text Grammar: 2 for no grammatical errors; 1 for some grammatical errors
but without failure to communicate message; 0 for multiple faulty
sentence structures.

Vocabulary: 2 for appropriate word choices; 1 for few errors; 0 for

multiple errors.

Spelling: 2 out 2 if there is no spelling error. 1 out of 2 for one spelling

error, while 0 out of 2 for more than one spelling error.

1 mark for each correct choice. 1 mark is deducted for making an

Multiple choice, incorrect choice. For an instance, if the correct answers are options ‘A’
choose multiple and ‘B’ but you selected ‘A’ and ‘C’, then you get +1 for A and -1 for
answers C, which means you get 0 overall. Making multiple errors will not
reduce your score below 0.

Fill in the blanks 1 mark for each correct word in the blank with correct spelling.

Highlight correct
1 mark for each correct choice.
summary

Multiple choice,
choose single 1 mark for each correct choice.
answer

Select missing
1 mark for each correct choice.
word
 Highlight 1 mark for each correct choice. 1 mark is deducted for making an
incorrect words incorrect choice.

Write from Each word from the question correctly spelled is 1 mark for Content.
dictation Inserting, omitting, or replacing the words is an error.

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In Describe image, Re-tell lecture, Summarize spoken text, Write essay, and
Summarize written text questions, if the score for content is 0, then the overall score is
also 0, regardless of other criteria.

Similarly, in Summarize spoken text, Write essay, and Summarize written text, if your
Form is totally wrong, then you will not receive any further score for other areas like
Grammar or Spelling.