Pearson Test of English (PTE) is a language proficiency test that is crucial for all non-native English speakers aiming to study, work, or reside in native English-speaking nations. In this language proficiency test, the examiners test your English proficiency through various tests. This includes Speaking and Writing, Listening, and Reading tests. But have you ever wondered how PTE band scores are calculated?
You will receive a score between 10 to 90 based on your performance in all your tasks. These scores are now done automatically without instructors present.
Here we will take a look at the types of PTE band scores and how are PTE scores calculated. So, without any further ado, let's get started!
As we mentioned, all modern PTE scores are automated. In this scoring system, there are two types of PTE Scores. They are as follows.
This type of PTE scoring gives a partial credit or score for all the right answers. If you provide incorrect answers, marks are reduced from the points you have gained from the right answers.
In this form of scoring, you will receive one point for the correct answer. If you fail to answer correctly, you will not receive any score.
The scoring method will vary depending on the exercise you need to perform. For some, you will receive partial credit; for others, your scores will be correct or incorrect.
There are two contributors to PTE Scores. These two contributors are PTE communicative skills score and the PTE Enabling skills score. Both of these contributors have their own set of factors that affect the overall PTE scores. The contributors and the factors that affect your overall PTE Band scores are as follows.
The PTE communicative skills include Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. Each of these skills contributes to the score of your overall competence. The breakdown of each of the PTE communicative skills is as follows.
Speaking
This form of PTE test evaluates your ability to express your ideas. This includes tasks such as speaking in response to prompts and describing images. You are evaluated based on your fluency, pronunciation, and vocabulary usage.
Writing Test
The writing test examines your ability to write ideas clearly and coherently. This test involves summarizing written texts, writing essays and responding to arguments.
|
Section |
Scoring System |
|
Read Aloud |
Partial Credit |
|
Repeat Sentence |
Partial Credit |
|
Describe Image |
Partial Credit |
|
Re-tell Lecture |
Partial Credit |
|
Answer Short Questions |
Correct and Incorrect |
|
Summarize Written Text |
Partial Credit |
|
Writing Essay |
Partial Credit |
Listening
In the listening skill test, you are scored based on your ability to understand spoken English. This form of testing involves listening to audio files and answering questions based on the said audio files.
|
Section |
Scoring System |
|
Summarize Spoken Text |
Partial Credit |
|
Multiple Choice |
Partial Credit, Points Reduced For Incorrect Options |
|
Fill In The Blanks |
Partial For Each Correctly Spelled |
|
Highlight Correct Summary |
Correct and Incorrect |
|
Multiple Choice |
Correct and Incorrect |
|
Select Missing Word |
Correct and Incorrect |
|
Highlight Incorrect Words |
Partial Credit, Points Reduced For Incorrect Options |
|
Write From Dictation |
Partial For Each Correctly Spelled |
Reading Test
The reading test examines your ability to read and interpret English. This form of the test includes reading a text and identifying main ideas, analyzing details and drawing conclusions.
You will receive a score between 10 and 90 points on all of these tests.
|
Section |
Scoring System |
|
Multiple Choice |
Correct and Incorrect |
|
Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers |
Partial Credit, Points Reduced For Incorrect Options |
|
Re-order Paragraphs |
Partial Credit For Each Correctly Ordered Adjacent Pair |
|
Reading: Fill In The Blanks |
Partial Credit For Each Correct Answer |
|
Reading and Writing: Fill In The Blanks |
Partial Credit For Each Correct Answer |
Along with communicative skills, you will also be assessed for enabling skills. These skills focus on specific aspects of language. This includes the following skills:
Grammar
You will be evaluated based on your ability to use proper English grammar. This includes the assessment of the following.
Oral Fluency
Oral fluency measures your ability to speak fluently. It examines the following aspects of your speech.
Spelling
As its name suggests, your score is based on how well you spell in this enabling skill. Here, your knowledge and application of correct letter combinations will be assessed.
Vocabulary
In this aspect of enabling skill, you will be scored based on your knowledge of English vocabulary and effective use of phrases. You will need to show a wide range of knowledge regarding synonyms, antonyms, collocations and idiomatic expressions.
Written Discourses
This enabling skill focuses on the organization and consistency of your written texts. Written discourses test the following:
Do note that these enabling skills are tested alongside communicative skills, and the score ranges between 10 and 90 points.
Once both of these skills are measured, the algorithm follows the sum and average method. In this method of calculating the PTE score, the sum of enabling skills is divided by six. This is then added to the total of communicative skills as the fifth factor. After this, the average of these five parts is calculated and then taken as the overall PTE SCore.
You have obtained the following score
First, you take the average of enabling skills.
Now you add this to the scores of communicative skills and take the average, which results in
If you are wondering how the PTE Band scores compare to the IELTS Band scores, the following is a comparison table. Additionally, if you want to know more about how IELTS band scores are calculated, check out our blog.
|
PTE Band Score |
IELTS Band Score |
|
30-34 |
4.5 |
|
35-42 |
5 |
|
43-50 |
5.5 |
|
51-58 |
6 |
|
59-64 |
6.5 |
|
65-72 |
7 |
|
73-78 |
7.5 |
|
79-82 |
8 |
|
83-85 |
8.5 |
|
86 + |
9 |
|
PTE Score Chart |
Description |
|
10-29 |
Only basic comprehension |
|
30-42 |
Can comprehend commonly used phrases and communicate in simple terms |
|
43-50 |
Can understand common language and use English in general situation |
|
51-58 |
Can communicate decently, easily understand standard language, understand most of the details from recorded and broadcast, and share factual information |
|
59-75 |
Can understand the main concepts of complex texts and communicate fluently |
|
76-84 |
Can understand complex English and express without difficulty |
|
85+ |
Can understand and use complex English with ease and coherence |
After giving the PTE exam, the results should be out within five business days from the test date. You will get an email once the PTE results are out. Once this happens, you can log in to your myPTE account to view the score. This score will be valid for two years from the test date.
PTE, or Pearson Test of English, is an English language proficiency test. This test examines how good you are at English. In this English Language test, you will be assessed based on your communicative skills and enabling skills. The overall score is calculated through the sum and average of both communicative skills and enabling skills.
We hope you found this helpful. If you want further insights on foreign education, do check out some of our other blogs. And as always, thank you for reading till the end.
Q: How is the band calculated in PTE?
A: The band score is calculated by taking the average score of enabling scores and then adding this average as a fifth factor to the communicative scores. You will then need to take the average of all five aspects, i.e., a communicative test score and the enabling test average.
Q: What is the 43 score in the PTE band?
A: The 43 in the PTE Band score represents that you are a modest speaker.