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PTE Academic Exam Pattern

Twenty question types in three timed parts, scored by machine on a single 10–90 scale.

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PTE Academic · checked 19 September 2026

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

Free PTE Academic mock test PTE Academic syllabus Today’s current affairs

19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

PTE Academic: the facts that matter now

01
Pearson, at authorised PTE test centres; not available at home
Administered by
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Study at 4,000+ institutions; visas to Australia and New Zealand; UK visas via PTE Academic UKVI
Used for
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Three parts in one sitting — Speaking & Writing 76–84 minutes, Reading 23–30, Listening 31–39
Format
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Overall and four communicative skills on a 10–90 scale, marked by Pearson’s automated system with human review
Scoring

Pattern

PTE Academic — How the paper is structured

The three parts as Pearson times them. The total is about two hours, with no break between parts and no separate speaking appointment.
Part	Question types	Time
Speaking and Writing	9, plus the unscored introduction	76–84 minutes
Reading	5	23–30 minutes
Listening	8	31–39 minutes

How the scoring works: Multiple-choice and gap items are marked automatically against a key. Spoken and written responses are scored by Pearson’s automated system on several traits at once — content, fluency and pronunciation for speech; content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling for writing — and some are reviewed by a human expert before the automated score is finalised. Because most tasks score two skills, the four communicative scores draw on evidence from across the test.
The scale: Overall and communicative scores run from 10 to 90. Pearson’s July 2025 concordance with IELTS Academic reads 24 = 4.5, 31 = 5.0, 39 = 5.5, 47 = 6.0, 55 = 6.5, 63 = 7.0, 71 = 7.5, 79 = 8.0, 86 = 8.5 and 90 = 9.0. It is a research relationship, not an admissions rule; each university and visa authority sets its own PTE minimum.
Negative scoring: Multiple-answer questions in reading and listening, and Highlight Incorrect Words, deduct a mark for each wrong selection down to a floor of zero for the item. Guessing extra options is therefore costly in a way it is not in IELTS.
Results and reporting: A score report is typically released within two business days and at most five, to the myPTE account, and can be shared free with any number of institutions. Scores are valid for two years. Booking can be cancelled free 14 or more days before the test, for a 50 per cent refund 8 to 13 days before, and for no refund inside 7 days.

A fee that varies by country

The test fee is set per country and shown at booking. In India it is charged in rupees and stood at ₹18,900 including GST from March 2026 — the same for PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI — with test centres in more than sixty cities. Confirm the current figure on the booking page before paying.

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