Major update on PTE Academic Standards and Measurement

Like other language test providers, the PTE team undertakes periodic reviews of its score concordance with other tests.

The alignment of PTE Academic to TOEFL and the industry-standard used to describe language proficiency, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), has not changed.

The standard and similarity of PTE Academic and IELTS Academic test scores were based on a linking study conducted in 2009 (published 2011).

Following a recent research study, the concordance table has been updated.

This update is based on candidates who took the PTE Academic and IELTS Academic tests within a short time. Test takers were generally representative of PTE Academic test-takers in terms of gender, age, primary language, and country of citizenship.

There have been no changes to the construct and scoring of PTE Academic. However, the minimum requirement and the standard comparison with IELTS has been updated.

What has changed

Pearson has updated our government partners on the outcomes of our concordance study. It is their decision as to whether they make changes to the score requirements for visa applications.
This is a release of our research findings; pending their review, governments and institutions may decide to make changes to their requirements.
If you already have met the minimum requirement for PTE score for Migration or Study purposes, whether that will be affected or not has not been decided yet.
PTE has notified the Government bodies about the changes; it will be the Government or authorized institutes' decision as to whether they make changes to the score requirements for visa applications.