The people
Who writes our content
Exam guides, blog posts, practice content and model answers are written and checked by Fizza Butool Zaidi, BandLadder's co-founder, who has taught IELTS for more than ten years and PTE for five. Data pages, their methodology and BandLadder's AI scoring are the work of Ali Zaidi, CTO and co-founder.
Facts about the exams
Sources
Exam facts change: fees, test formats, booking rules, score requirements and visa rules. Our guides take these from the organisations that set them, such as ielts.org, the British Council, IDP, Pearson, ETS, government immigration pages and each university's own admissions pages, and link to the source next to the fact.
When sources disagree, for example two score concordance tables, we show both and say which organisation published each. When a number comes from a third party rather than the organisation that sets it, the text says so.
Freshness
Dates
Every guide shows the date it was last updated. When we re-check a fee, rule or requirement, the text names the date the source was read. Requirements still change between intakes and test dates, so the source that binds you is the official page, your offer letter or your booking confirmation.
Practice material
Original content
BandLadder's practice questions, model answers, explanations and guides are original BandLadder content. They are written to match the official formats and band descriptors, but they are not real exam papers. Monthly prediction pages list practice topics; they are not leaked or confirmed exam questions.
Our IELTS and PTE platform comparisons are published by BandLadder and include BandLadder; each carries a disclosure saying so.
Scores
AI scoring
BandLadder AI scores speaking and writing practice against the public IELTS band descriptors and Pearson's published PTE criteria. These scores are practice estimates: they can be wrong, they are not official IELTS or PTE results, and they do not guarantee an exam score. See our terms.
Open data
Data pages
Our data pages, such as the university requirements table, PTE practice statistics and IELTS Writing statistics, each explain how the numbers were made and what they cannot show. Learner statistics are aggregates of practice results from learner accounts; they contain no personal information, and staff and test accounts are excluded.
Independence
Who we are not
BandLadder is an independent preparation service run by Bandladder Private Limited. It is not the official IELTS or PTE test provider.
Tell us
Corrections
If a fact on BandLadder is wrong or out of date, email support@bandladder.com with “Correction” in the subject, the page address and, if you can, the official source. We check it against the source, fix the page and update its date.
More about BandLadder
Related
© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy