PTE Score Changes: Why It’s Not the End, but a New Opportunity!
The latest English score requirements have left many test-takers worried—especially about higher Speaking and Writing benchmarks. But here’s the truth: the new system actually makes success easier if you prepare smartly. In this blog, I break down the changes, share surprising research insights about scoring buffers, and explain why perfection isn’t necessary for 90. Read this for clarity, confidence, and a winning strategy!
Musab Omer
8/15/20253 min read
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PTE Score Changes – A New Perspective You Haven’t Heard Before
A few days ago, new English score requirements for immigration and other purposes were announced, and I’ve noticed a lot of students feeling disheartened. The main reason? Speaking and Writing score thresholds have increased, while Reading and Listening required scores have decreased. Let me explain these changes clearly and share some important research findings that I believe will give you fresh hope and motivation.
What Has Changed?
For example for Superior English:
Listening and Reading score requirements have dropped from 79+ to 69 and 70 respectively.
Speaking and Writing score requirements have risen—Speaking from 79+ to 88, and Writing from 79+ to 85.
At first glance, the increase in Speaking and Writing scores looks intimidating. But if we look at the “glass half full,” it means you now mainly need to concentrate on two modules (Speaking & Writing), rather than juggling four (all sections previously). The scores for Reading and Listening have actually become easier to achieve.
Why I’m Still Confident This is Doable
Focused Preparation:
Instead of spreading your efforts over four modules equally, you can now channel your energy into mastering Speaking and Writing—where strategic practice really pays off.Speaking – The Fluency Game:
Fluency combined with the right strategies makes it possible to score 90+ in Speaking. If you understand how to maintain flow, pronunciation, and content balance, you can easily meet or surpass the new threshold of 88.Writing – Achievable Excellence:
Scoring 85 in Writing is also very doable. With targeted practice on essay structure, grammar accuracy, and clarity of ideas, the higher benchmark is well within reach.
My Research Insight: A Surprising Truth About Scoring
Now let me shared something surprising with you that I believe is never discussed but my students knew because I talked about it when I give them the initial lecture. I believe the real maximum score in each module is not exactly 90, it’s around 93–95. That means even if you make small mistakes, you can still achieve 90. Sounds surprising? Let me explain my logic.
1 Humanly impossible perfection
Many students get 90 in Speaking. But think about it:
7 Read Alouds
10 Repeat Sentences
3–4 Describe Images
2 Retell Lectures
6 Answer Short Questions
Is it truly humanly possible to make zero mistakes in all of these? Unlikely. Yet 90s still happen.
2 The “Extended Speaking” clue
I’ve seen profiles where students got 90 in Speaking but their Extended Speaking skill bar (purely related to Speaking) was not full and at times at around 55–60%. If a perfect score required 100% performance, this shouldn’t be possible.
3 Reading case study
Scoring in reading module except RA was purely mathematical and one of my students got 90 in Reading, but I trained her to skip time-wasting multiple-choice questions entirely, guessing answers quickly. These questions still carry marks, so by skipping them, she should’ve scored around 88–89, yet she still hit 90.
4 Mustafa’s example (real case)
Today I met Mustafa, who scored 90 in Speaking and Listening. Here’s the twist:
His Extended Speaking bar is only 55–60%.
In one Write From Dictation question, he missed three words completely so he could not even write extra words and he came to know about it when he came home and check on Apeuni.
Still, he achieved 90.
What This Means for You
These examples suggest that your PTE score isn’t just about “perfection.” The system seems to have scoring buffers built in. This means you don’t have to be 100% perfect to hit your target, you just need the right approach and priorities.
Final Words
Yes, the rules of the game have changed. But they haven’t made success impossible, just different. Instead of telling yourself “it’s harder now,” focus on the fact that two modules are easier, and the other two are absolutely doable with the right training.
The biggest barrier is not Speaking or Writing, it’s the mental block in the mind.
Remove that, and you can still win.
Stay motivated,
Musab Omer