What changed in PTE Academic in 2025?

What changed on 7 August 2025

Pearson updated PTE Academic for tests from 7 August 2025. The same update applies to PTE Academic UKVI. PTE Core and the PTE Home tests didn't change.

Most of the test is the same as before. Pearson says the original 20 question types kept their tasks, their format and their timings. Your score report still gives an overall score and four skill scores, each from 10 to 90.

The two new speaking question types

Both new question types are in the first part of the test, speaking and writing. Pearson's Score Guide says you get two or three of each.

In Respond to a Situation, you read and hear a short description of a situation, up to 60 words. You get 10 seconds to think, then 40 seconds to answer. It counts towards speaking only.

In Summarize Group Discussion, you hear three people talk about a topic for up to three minutes. Then you have two minutes to summarise the discussion in your own words. It counts towards both listening and speaking. For a high content score, Pearson says you need to cover what each speaker says, thinks and feels.

Pearson marks both on content, pronunciation and fluency, the same way it marks Describe Image.

Is the PTE test longer now?

Not by much. Pearson says the whole test still takes about two hours, and many people finish in less. Its Score Guide gives 2 hours 15 minutes as the most it can take.

The test still has three parts in the same order, with no break. There are now 22 question types instead of 20, and some of the old ones come up more often, so you answer a few more questions. The time you get for each question didn't change.

The part times in the table can add up to more than two hours. Pearson says each test varies, so the part times don't add up to the total, which stays at about two hours.

How the new marking works

A computer still marks every answer. Since August 2025, a trained person also checks the content of your answers on seven question types. Pearson calls this double marking.

If the computer and the person give different content scores, a second person makes the final decision. For Write Essay, a person also checks how you develop and organise your ideas, and the range of your language.

A person never marks your pronunciation or your fluency. The computer still does that, so no person judges your accent. The marker sees only your answer, not your name or your photo.

Between them, these seven question types carry about 54 per cent of your overall score, more than half of your marks.

Pearson also says the new marking is better at finding copied answers. Its Score Guide treats an answer built from memorised material as irrelevant, and an irrelevant answer scores zero for content. In a question type like Describe Image, zero for content means zero for the whole answer.

• Describe Image
• Re-tell Lecture
• Respond to a Situation
• Summarize Group Discussion
• Summarize Written Text
• Write Essay
• Summarize Spoken Text

The new question weights

Pearson's question weighting table now lists all 22 question types, the two new ones included, with each one's share of each score on an average test.

Summarize Group Discussion is worth about 9 per cent of your overall score. Only Describe Image is worth more.

Together, the two new question types make up about 32 per cent of your speaking score. So you can't skip them and hope to do well in speaking.

The shares are averages across many tests. Your own test day can differ a little, so use them to plan your practice, not to predict an exact score.

New PTE scores for Australian visas

Home Affairs changed its PTE scores at the same time. For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, each skill has its own minimum, and speaking and writing need higher scores than listening and reading.

For tests taken on or before 6 August 2025, the old scores still apply to that result: 50 for Competent, 65 for Proficient and 79 for Superior, in each skill.

Pearson's update page says the changes apply to tests taken after 7 August. Its own announcement and Home Affairs both say from 7 August. For a visa, Home Affairs decides, and it puts a test taken on 7 August 2025 under the new scores.

This post doesn't cover the other visa rules. Check the Home Affairs page for your visa before you book.

Has anything changed in 2026?

No. When we last checked Pearson's website, on 30 September 2026, it hadn't announced any new changes to PTE Academic. The August 2025 update is still the latest one.

You may see articles about a new PTE format for 2026. Most of them describe the August 2025 changes with a new year in the title. If a page talks about new question types or a new scoring system for 2026, look for the same news on pearsonpte.com before you change how you prepare.

Practise in the new format

Our PTE mock tests follow the test as it has been since 7 August 2025. They include both new question types, and they count every question type with Pearson's current weights.

Our engine marks your content, pronunciation and fluency. Your mock score is our estimate, not a Pearson score, but it shows you which skill needs the most work.