Pearson to offer at home exam option for global English language test, reduce duration

New Delhi, September 8

Pearson Test of English (PTE), which is accepted by over 3,000 academic institutions worldwide and by governments of the UK, Australia and New Zealand for visa and immigration purposes, can be taken from home from November 16, officials said.

The duration of the test will also be shortened from three hours to two, they announced on Tuesday.

“Many of our PTE Academic test-takers want to move abroad to study at a university or progress their careers. To help them in their journey, we have rolled-out a shorter PTE Academic test to be taken in test centres and a new online PTE Academic test, which can be taken at home,” said Freya Thomas Monk, Senior Vice President, English Language Learning, Pearson.

According to an official statement by Pearson, the new development will offer an improved experience for candidates with less time spent taking the exam, whilst the accuracy of the test remains the same.

“There are no changes to the overall format, question types or scoring scale—there will simply be fewer questions—allowing candidates to prepare in the same way.

“Named as PTE Academic Online, the test will be offered as a new online proctored option for people who prefer to sit for the test remotely, from the comfort of their own home. The online test takes two hours and will follow the same format and scoring system as the new shorter PTE Academic test centre exam,” it said.

“It is important to note that although the online test is identical to PTE Academic, it is not currently recognised for visa or migration purposes. We also ask candidates to check that the universities they are applying to accept the online version before booking this test,” the statement added.

Officials at Pearson said they were working on procuring the required approvals for the online test to be used for visa purposes and be accepted by more universities. PTI