PTE Academic assesses listening, reading, speaking and writing all via computer in a single 3 hour test session.To complete a PTE Academic test, you will need to attend a secure Pearson test center. You will use a computer and headset to listen to, read and respond to questions.
During the three-hour test session there will be three main parts to the test: speaking and writing (together), listening and reading. There are twenty different question formats, ranging from multiple choice through to essay writing and interpreting information.
PTE Academic assesses real-life, academic content, so you will hear excerpts from lectures and view graphs and charts. You will hear a range of accents in the test, from British and American to non-native speakers, so you will be exposed to the type of accents you will encounter in everyday life.
Test Format:
PART 1: SPEAKING & WRITING (77 – 93 minutes)
- Personal Introduction
- Read aloud
- Repeat sentence
- Describe image
- Re-tell lecture
- Answer short question
- Summarize written text
- Essay (20mins)
PART 2: READING (32 – 41 minutes)
- Fill in the blanks
- Multiple choice questions
- Re-order paragraphs
- Fill in the blanks
- Multiple choice questions
- A ten minute break is optional
PART 3: LISTENING (45 – 57 minutes)
- Summarize spoken text
- Multiple choice questions
- Fill the blanks
- Highlight the correct summary
- Multiple choice questions
- Select missing word
- Highlight incorrect words
- Write from dictation