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Pearson is bringing in some significant changes to the PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI tests from 7th August 2025. The shifts are meant to enable institutions to more closely assess the English proficiency of test takers with more authentic, fair, and transparent attitudes.

Key Update 1: Two New Speaking & Writing Tasks

To increase the scope of what is assessed in real-world communication, two loading tasks will be introduced:

  1. Summarize Group Discussion

In doing so, candidates will be required to listen to a conversation between two to four speakers (approximately 3 minutes in length), make notes, and then respond orally with a 2-minute summary. This tests understanding speech and power of expression.

  1. Respond to a Situation

Test-takers will be presented with a short everyday scenario (in audio and text format) and must speak in response for approximately 40 seconds.

This assesses spontaneous speech, problem solving, as well as explaining and advising. With these additions, the total number of PTE question types will increase from 20 to 22.

Update 2: Increase in Time for Test and No. of the Tasks

  • The overall test length will increase by approximately 15 minutes, bringing the total duration to around 2 hours and 15 minutes.
  • The Speaking & Writing section will now contain 65–75 tasks, an increase from the previous 52–64.

Here’s how task counts will change:

Task Type

Previous

New
Describe Image 3–4 5–6
Retell Lecture 1–2 2–3
Summarize Group Discussion – 2–3
Respond to a Situation – 2–3

Update 3: Major changes to scoring

1. Refined Skill Scoring

Now all tasks will be related to a single skill. For example, “Read Aloud” will enhance Speaking only, not Speaking and Reading.

2. Detailed Rubrics

  • Written: Summarise Written Text rating is now on a scale of 0-4 (previously 0-2).
  • The Essay Writing test will be scored on a scale of 0–6 for each criterion (vs 0–3), enhancing the precision of assessment.

3. Human Intervention for Fairness

Human review will be performed for a combination of seven jobs:

  • Summarize Written Text
  • Essay
  • Describe Image
  • Retell Lecture
  • Summarize Spoken Text
  • The two new tasks introduced

AI will continue to score fluency and pronunciation. If there's a mismatch between human and AI evaluations, a second human assessor will intervene.

Why These Changes Matter

  • More realistic and practical: Tasks are much more like what students would experience in real life, so they prepare students to use the language.

  • Better score clarity: Clear rubrics and single-skill evaluation make it easier to track and improve individual skills.

  • Encouragement of originality: Human oversight discourages the use of memorized templates and promotes natural, genuine responses.

  • Fast and fair: Despite the new human checks, results will still be delivered within 2–5 business days.

How to Prepare for the New Format

To ensure success after the August 2025 update, adjust your preparation strategies now:

  • Practice multi-speaker listening tasks (podcasts, debates) and summarize key points clearly.
  • Simulate real-life scenarios and practice speaking with structure and spontaneity.
  • Understand the new scoring scales for written tasks.
  • Focus on natural delivery—avoid pre-learned templates.
  • Use updated mock tests that reflect the new format and timing.

Final Thoughts

PTE Academic’s new enhancements represent a move towards more authentic, flexible, and natural captured ways of testing. Aspirants should begin their preparation under the new pattern to score confidently and effectively under the new test structure. No matter if you are a student, job seeker, or migration aspirant, this new format will give a better representation of your English skills.