PTE 2020 Registration, Test Format, Test Centers, Scoring Pattern Application Fee

Akhilesh Kumar December 19, 2020 215 0

PTE (Pearson Test of English) is a test conducted for English language proficiency by Pearson PCL group. PTE Academic is a computer based test for study abroad and immigration. It is a three-hours long test recognized by universities and colleges globally.

There are 3 different tests viz. PTE Academic, PTE General and PTE for Young Learners. Any person whose native language is not English and willing to study abroad can access his/her proficiency in the language through PTE Academic.

PTE Academic tests a candidate’s English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Check PTE Exam Pattern
PTE Exam Centers are located in around 50 countries all over the world.
Examination booking fee is INR 11,102 excluding GST of 18%.
PTE Academic is accepted by prestigious institutions like Harvard Business School, Yale, INSEAD.
It is also accepted for VISA purposes by Australia and New Zealand Governments

PTE 2019 Exam Highlights

PTE Exam Dates 2019

PTE can be taken throughout the year.
Candidates may book their slots as per their convenience.
Candidates willing to take Pearson Test of English can register themselves 24 hours prior to the exam day.
Its is advised to the candidates that they must book their slot 10 – 15 days before the test as the test centers are allotted in first come first serve basis.

Pearson Test For English

PTE 2019 Commonly Asked Questions

Ques. How to choose the right PTE exam?

Pearson PCL conducts four different exams, each with its own purpose.

PTE General and PTE Young Learners are held to apply to schools and high schools.

PTE Business English is required as a english proficiency test in business and commerce industry.

PTE Academic is the standard test required for applying to the universities and colleges in English speaking nations.

Ques. Which countries accept PTE Score?

Acceptable for study applications by thousands of universities/colleges around the world (USA, New Zealand, Canada, UK, Australia).

PTE scores are approved/accepted by Australian and New Zealand govt universities and for immigration purpose.

PTE 2019 Eligibility Criteria

PTE 2019 Registration

Registration for PTE are only done in online mode on the official website of the exam. To book PTE Academic, candidates have to create a pearson account. make sure all fields are mentioned correctly to avoid hassle free registration. Steps to register and book the exam are mentioned below:

Step 1: Create a PTE Account

Visit in.pearson.com/pte
Enter your personal information-name, Date of Birth, Email-ID.
Fill in your contact information, preferred test location.
If you want additional information regarding the test, you can click on “Get Call Back”.
You’ll be redirected to another page; Now click on “Create Account”
A confirmation mail with login credentials will be sent to the given email ID within 48 hours.

Note: Enter your name in the same manner as it appears in the identification that has to be produced at the test day.

Remember to use Roman characters while filling registration form. Use a functioning and valid email ID, as all correspondence regarding PTE is done via email.

Step 2: Book your Test

Once candidates have created pearson account, they can sign in and schedule a test.
Sign in using your Username and password.
Go to “PTE-A: Pearson Test of English Academic” mentioned under Exam Catalogue.
Click “Schedule this exam” and enter all details required.
As per your comfort choose the preferred test centre, appointment date & test time slot.
Click on “Proceed to checkout button”

Step 3: Pay Test Fees

Complete the checkout steps & Pay the application fee. A confirmation mail will be sent within 48 hours with the location of the test center and list of instruction to be followed on the test day.

The payment methods accepted by Pearson are:

All MasterCard, American Express and JCB credit cards and Visa debit cards are accepted
Vouchers/promotion codes (candidates have to pay the balance if your voucher does not cover the full test cost)
PayPal payment is not accepted

Late booking fee is charged if booking is done 48 hours prior to the test. Check your confirmation email properly to cross verify identification details. in case of issues contact customer care before the exam.

PTE 2019 Acceptable IDs

ID Details provided at the time of booking the test must be carried on the day of Test. Candidates taking test outside their country of citizenship must produce their valid passport as ID. While taking test in country of citizenship, ideally passport should be presented. ceratin exceptions are their in regions/countries, which are as follows:

Rescheduling or Cancelling PTE Academic test

Candidates can reschedule the exam to any desired date through phone or online.
Canceling or rescheduling the exam can be done through the PTE profile on the website.

Following fees for rescheduling are applicable for the given timeline:

Rescheduling 7 days prior the test date: 25% of the exam fee has to be paid for a new test date
Cancelling the test 7 days before prior: 50% of the test fee is refunded
Rescheduling the test within 7 days: Pay the full registration fee for the new test
Cancelling within 7 days of the test: No refund

PTE 2019 Test Pattern

PTE Academic comprises of 3 sections – Speaking & Writing; Reading; Listening.
The duration of the test is three hours.
Test 20 different types of question formats.
The test will comprise of excerpts from lectures, view graphs, and charts.
PTE Academic will analyze candidate’s ability to comprehend different accents of English.

Part 1: Speaking and Writing Test Pattern

Component wise detiled test pattern of Speaking and Writing is mentioned below:

Personal Introduction

25 Seconds are given to read a prompt text and prepare response.
30 seconds are provided to record the response.
Response can be recorded only once. It is not scored but sent together with the Score Report.

Read Aloud : Candidates have to read aloud a text that appears on the screen. Reading accuracy and speaking skills are assessed in this section.

The text length goes upto 60 words or more. There is no fixed time limit to read the text. It depends on the length of the text.
Candidates get 30-40 seconds to prepare the text before the recording begins.
A short tone is buzzed, candidates have to start speaking after that tone.
Progress bar changes from recording to completed once the time is over.
Responses can be recorded only once.

Note: In case candidates remain silent for 3 seconds or more, the recording box will automatically stop.

Repeat Sentence: In this component, candidates have to listen a recorded sentence and repeat it. Listening, memorising and speaking skills are assessed. The prompt length is of 3 to 9 seconds and candidates have to record their response in 15 seconds.

The audio of sentence begins to play and candidates have to listen it carefully.
There is no short tone, record the response immediately.
Once the time limit id out recording changes to completed.
Candidates cannot replay the audio, response can be recorded only once.

Describe Image: Candidates have to describe an image that is displayed on screen. Analyzing and Speaking skills are assessed in this component. 40 seconds are provided to answer this section.

A countdown is active after which the microphone is active to record.
25 seconds are given to study the image and prepare the response.
A short tone is played, candidates have to speak right after the tone.
Response can be recorded only once.

Re-Tell Lecture: In this component, after watching/ listening a lecture candidates have to re-tell it in their own words. Interprating and Speaking skills are assessed. Prompt length is of 90 seconds. 40 seconds are provided to record the response.

An audio is played with a image related to it.
After the audio, 10 seconds are provide to prepare the respone.
A short tone is played, candidates have to speak after that immediately.

Tips: When the audio is played, Candidates can take notes of the lecture on the erasable noteboard.

Answer Short Question: Candidates have to reply to a question in one or few words. Prompt length is of 3 to 9 seconds. 10 seconds are provided to answer the question.

Audio is played along with an image.
There is no short tone, after the audio stops response is to be recorded immediately.
Response cannot be replayed, it can only be recorded once.

Summarize Written Text: One sentence summary of the given passage is to be written. Compiling, reading and writing skills are assessed. Prompt length is of 300 words. 10 minutes are given to write the response.

Passage should be summarised in not more than 75 words.
There is a word count on the number of words that candidates write.
Cut, copy and paste options are available to write the summary.

Essay: A topic is given on which a 200 to 300 word essay is to be written. Thinking ability and writing skills are assessed. Prompt length is of 2-3 sentences. 20 minutes are given to write the answer.

A comprehensive and argumentative essay is to be written.
Word count is provided to count the number of words written.
Minimum of 200 words should be written but not more than 300 words.
Cut, copy and paste options are given to edit the answer.

Part 2: Reading Test Pattern

Reading section is of 32-40 minutes. The section comprises of 15-20 independent and integrated skill questions. It is the only timed section. Reading section has following sub sections that candidates have to attempt:

Component wise detiled test pattern of Reading is mentioned below:

Reading and Writing fill in the blanks: A text is given with gaps in between. Candidates have to fill in those gaps from the word box given. Prompt length is 300 words to assess reading skills.

Beside each gap, there is a drop down word list to select answer from.
Select the option the fills the gap best.
In order to change the response, left click to chosse different option.

Multiple Choice with Mutiple Answers: After reading the text given, a MCQ question based on the content nd tone of the text is to be answered. Candidates have to select more than one option. Prompt length is of 300 words.

Candidates have to select response options that they thimk are correct from the list of options.
Options selected are ighlighted in yellow.
Candidates can change their response by left click and selecting alternate response.

Re-Order Paragraphs: Text boxes appear on screen in random order. candidates have to put the boxes in correct order. Prompt length is of 150 words. Candidates have to restore the text boxes in original position. Text can be moved in two ways:

Left click on the box( will be outlined in blue), hold the left mouse button and drop it to right location.
Left click to select the box and use left/ right or up/down arrow buttons to move the box across.

In order to deselct a box, candidates can left click on the screen anywhere.

Fill in the Blanks: Text is displayed on screen with gaps in between. Prompt length is of 80 words.

A passage is given with missing words along with a list of words to fill in the gaps in the text.
Words provided are more than te number of gaps. all words are not to be used.
Left click on the words to select it and drag it to the desired gap.
In order to remove a word from the gap, drag it back to the word box.

Multiple Choice with Single Answer: Based on content and tone of the given passage a MCQ question is to be answered. Prompt length is of 300 words.

There can be several suitable responses but only one best option is to be selected.
The option selected is highlighted in yellow.
Candidates can change their response by left click and selecting alternate response.

Part 3: Listening Test Pattern

Listening section is 45-57 minutes long. Questions are asked through audio and video clip. Candidates should listen to these clips carefully as they are played only once. Candidates can make notes and adjust volumes as needed

Component wise detiled test pattern of Listening is mentioned below:

Summarize Spoken Text: A 50 to 70 word summary is to be written after listening a recording. Prompt length is of 60 to 90 seconds. 10 minutes are given to write the summary.

Candidates can listen to the audio only once.
MInimum of 50 words shoud be written but not more than 70 words.
Cut, copy and paste option is available to edit the response.
Word count at the bottom of screen, marks the number of words written.

Multiple Choice Questions: 40 to 90 seconds prompt length is given. A MCQ question based on content and tone of text is to be answered.

After listening to the audio, candidates should select response from the list of options provided.
Options selected are highlighted in yellow.
Left click selects and deselcts an option.

Fill in the Blanks: Transcript of a recording comes up on screen with gaps in between. candidates have to listen to the recording and fill in the missing word in each gap. Prompt length of the text is 3- to 60 seconds.

Candidates have to restore the transcript by typing the missing words.
Left click on the gap to type the missing word.
Erasable noteboard is provided, candidates can take down notes when audio is being played.

Highlight the Correct Summary: A recording is played and candidates have to select the summary that best describes the recording. Listening and reading skills are assessed. Prompt length is of 30 to 90 seconds.

There are several possible answers but only one is correct.
Option selected is highlighted in yellow.

Tip: Candidates should not read and listen at the same time. This makes the task difficult. Listen, make notes on the erasable board and then read the summaries given.

Select Missing Word: Last word or group of words in a recording are replaced with a beep. Candidates have to select the correct option to complete the recording. Prompt length is of 20 to 70 seconds.

Highlight Incorrect Words: Transcript of an audio is provided which contains errors. candidates have to listen to the recording and read the transcript. after which the incorrect words are to ne highlighted. Prompt length is of 15 to 50 seconds.

Write from Dictation: A short sentence is played, candidates have to hear it and type the sentence in the response box. recording can be listened to only once. erasable board is provided to take the notes. Listening, spelling and writing skills are assessed.

PTE 2019 Test Centers & Application Fee

PTE is conducted over 250 centers in 50 countries across the world. Test centers are allotted to the candidates in first come first serve basis, therefore, candidates are advised to book their slots early.

PTE 2019 Exam Day Instructions

Students are guided with instructions that should be followed on the day of test in a confirmation mail. The following instructions must be conformed to –

A valid government-issued ID, preferably passport should be presented in original form.
Arrive 30 minutes before the exam
Sign in electronic form in the ‘Test Taker Rules Agreement’ at the reception.
Once it is signed, candidates must provide an electronic signature and biometric identification
Candidates will be provided with an erasable note and pen.
Candidates should not carry any other identification proof inside the examination hall.
Follow the guide to check if the microphone and headphones are working properly when in front of the computer.
A 10-minute break is allowed after the completion of Part 2.
Candidates have to take a palm vein test in order to take break.

PTE 2019 Preparation

PTE Academic free test-takers handbook is available in 7 different langauges
Sample questions are available for all three section on the website. The helps students to get familiar with the test format.
A PTE Academic guide with 200 questions for practice, sample response analysis and tips can be bought from the official website.
Candidates can download the offline practice test paper from the official website.
For rigorous preparation of the exam candidates can join online preparation courses.

Test Tips for Speaking and Writing

In read aloud component use punctuation marks as to know where to pause while reading. Stress the words that convey some important meaning or information.
For repeating Sentence carefully listen the phrasing of sentence when it is read aloud. notice stressed upon words and copy the same.
While describing an image focus on the leading information. describe the image in an organised and sequenced way.
In re-telling a lecture, an image is also displayed on the screen. Use the image to figure out the theme/topic of the lecture. Utilise full 40 seconds speaking time to convey the response.
When answering short question, try to keep the answer short. Do not take long pauses as recording stops after 3 seconds of pause.
In order to summarize written text in one sentence, do check that the response is in correct form. keep an eye on the word count. while practicing for this section make use of compound and complex sentences.
Analyze the essay prompt and discuss whether yor agree/disagree with the statement given.

Test tips for Reading

While filling in the blanks once skim the text to get an overall meaning. Read before and after the given blank to identify the correct word.
Recall words that are ofte heard or used together. To fill in the blanks see what part fo speech is missing and choose the option accordingly.
Notice key words in prompt and always evaluate the response.
If repeated phrase/word occurs in options of MCQ, they are somehow related to the text. Note such options.
To re-Order paragraphs, have a quick glance at all the text boxes before re-ordering them.

Test Tips for Listening

Do make sure that all the important information with supporting points is included while summarizing the spoken text.
While answering MCQ questions, answer should be sougt out on the basis of meaning.
Remember to use Erasable Noteboard while listening the audio and take notes.
In questions where several possible options seem to be correct, try to see the question differently.
When Highlighting incorrect words read the transcription quickly and then listen to audio.
Use cursor and follow the text simultaneously.
To Write Dictation type correct words as many as possible in the response box.

PTE 2019 Scoring System

PTE Part 1:Speaking and Writing Scoring Pattern

Communicative skills of the candidate are put to test. Academic vocabulary, variations in tone, and fluency are highly noted. Pronunciation and oral fluency are marked from native-like to advanced level. Questions demanding opinion and details, development of complex ideas with appropriate usage of phrases is important. Formation of sentence is an enabling skill that is scored.

PTE Part 2:Reading Scoring Pattern

Candidates have to understand the difference between connotation and denotation. Concrete and abstract information presented are scored upon.

TE Part 3: Listening Scoring Pattern

PTE 2019 Result and Score Report

Pearson releases PTE Academic results in 5 business days of the test. Students recieve a mail containing instructions to access the result after the test. No hard copy of the result is provided by Pearson.

To check your result, you need to log into the pearsonvue.com website using your account details.

Enter the username and password
Log in and go to the ‘Current Activity’ link
Go to ‘View Score Report’ to access PTE Academic result
The result is downloaded in PDF format.

What does your Score Report Display?

Personal information such as name, country, registration ID and photograph
Test day details such as date, center and center code
Result detail such as result date, and validity of the score
Overall score is mentioned in the second section
Detailed performance of the test

PTE Re-Scoring

Candidates who are not satisfied with their PTE Academic result can request to rescore their test. Since it is a computer scored test, it is improbable that the overall scores will change. Spoken responses and open ended responses only will be rescored. In case the score change, it will replace the previous score and score report will be reissued.

Candidates can only request for the rescoring of the most recent PTE Academic test.
Within 14 days of the availability of score report, candidates should contact Pearson Customer Service to demand rescore.
Rescoring Fee information will be given by the Customer Service team.
In case overall, communicative or enabling skill score is modified, the rescore fee is refunded.

PTE Score on Global Scale of English

Global scale of english is a parmeter that provides an overview of candidates english skills. PTE scores are placed against this scale. It is aligned with other popular test and scales that are conducted. PTE Academic scores in comparison to IELTS and TOEFL iBT are tabulated below: