PTE have made changes to how they compare to IELTS. Will this impact you?

There’s been a lot of chatter on forums and Facebook groups about PTE’s recent changes to how they compare to IELTS. Some test takers are worried about how the possible change will impact them. 

When speaking to Australia’s SBS News, Voriganti Shakti Goud said this update was terrible news.

You can read the full article here.

Migration agent at IDP Adelaide, Shiva Ghimire (MARN 1686773) said the Department of Home Affairs needs to accept the proposed changes first. However, “If that happens, these changes can impact applicants who are hoping to migrate to Australia as a Permanent Resident (PR).” 

And, he continued,  “Some Australian Permanent Resident (PR) visas are points-based. Many will aim to prove they have Superior English to get 20 points for English language proficiency. So, if these changes take effect, one may need to score 84 instead of 79.” 

As a result, we recommend test takers and organisations that rely on English language tests to use IELTS as the gold standard test for English language assessment. Our scoring system remains consistent and reliable. And, IELTS band scores have been the same for over 30 years. By choosing IELTS, test takers can have confidence that the score standards won’t shift. 

At IELTS, we want to help you achieve the result you need for work, study or migration. As a result, that’s why we share with you how we test, how we mark your work, and what is important. So, for IELTS Writing, Speaking, Reading and Listening, we’ll tell you what examiners look for and how your test is marked. We’ll also show you how we calculate your overall band score. 

Quality and fairness 

IELTS invests heavily in the continued development of its test and the processes how we mark your test. This is to ensure a fair assessment for all test takers. Furthermore, it is to ensure a reliable result for the organisations that depend on IELTS as a measure of English language skill. 

Find out more about the test format 

IELTS is unique in that it allows the choice of an Academic or General Training test. Both types of IELTS test measure your skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. However, the questions are a little different and one test might suit you more than the other. 

New research by the IELTS partners has shone a light on the importance of education institutions and organisations setting the right English language scores for their candidates. The research, conducted with over 500 test takers who had sat both IELTS and Pearson Test of English (PTE), showed there was significant and concerning variability between the commonly accepted PTE benchmarks and our 2020 study findings. The timely research comes as many organisations begin to review the stopgaps put in place when language testing was interrupted during the peak of the pandemic restrictions. The results showed the overall band scores were relatively comparable with the established PTE benchmarks, with only minor variations at the high band scores of IELTS 8 and above. However, when looking at the individual sub-scores (listening, reading, writing and speaking) of the two tests, the results differed greatly from previously published benchmark reports which are still relied upon by many organisations.