Which PTE tasks count towards the Listening score?
Your Listening score is not a score for Part 3 alone. Pearson counts some tasks towards two skills, so a weak Repeat Sentence in the speaking part, or misspelled words in Write from Dictation, can hold Listening below 79 even when the multiple-choice questions go well.
Every task that feeds Listening
| Task | Part of the test | PTE Academic | PTE Core |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeat Sentence | Part 1 | 10–12 items · Listening and Speaking | 10–12 items · Listening and Speaking |
| Answer Short Question | Part 1 | 5–6 items · Listening | 5–6 items · Listening and Speaking |
| Retell Lecture | Part 1 | 2–3 items · Listening and Speaking | Not in PTE Core |
| Summarize Group Discussion | Part 1 | 2–3 items · Listening and Speaking | Not in PTE Core |
| Summarize Spoken Text | Part 3 Listening | 1 item · Listening and Writing | 1–2 items · Listening and Writing |
| Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers | Part 3 Listening | 2–3 items · Listening | 1–2 items · Listening |
| Fill in the Blanks (type in) | Part 3 Listening | 2–3 items · Listening | 2–3 items · Listening and Writing |
| Highlight Correct Summary | Part 3 Listening | 2–3 items · Listening and Reading | Not in PTE Core |
| Multiple Choice, Single Answer | Part 3 Listening | 2–3 items · Listening | 1–2 items · Listening |
| Select Missing Word | Part 3 Listening | 1–2 items · Listening | 1–2 items · Listening |
| Highlight Incorrect Words | Part 3 Listening | 2–3 items · Listening and Reading | 1–2 items · Listening and Reading |
| Write from Dictation | Part 3 Listening | 3–4 items · Listening and Writing | 3–4 items · Listening and Writing |
PTE Academic Score Guide (July 2025) pp. 16, 21, 24, 25, 41, 44; PTE Core Score Guide (January 2026) pp. 25, 30, 36, 38.
Count the items. In PTE Academic, Part 3 has 15–22 items and Part 1 adds 19–24 more that feed Listening. In PTE Core it is 10–17 plus 15–18. Either way, roughly half of the items that feed Listening are spoken answers: at the middle of each range, about 54% in Academic and 55% in Core. Items are not points, and Pearson publishes no weights, but a Listening plan that ignores the speaking part ignores a large part of the score.
The overall score is not an average of the skill scores (Academic guide p. 6), and each institution sets its own minimums (p. 9). The full scale is on the PTE score chart; the same approach for Reading is in PTE Reading 79, and all four skills are in PTE 65 to 79. The rest of this sheet covers scoring task by task, a plan and worked examples.
Premium sheet · 4 more sections
- How PTE Listening is scored, task by task
- PTE Listening 79 plan: practise by task contribution
- PTE Listening examples: where the last points go
- Your turn: PTE Listening 79 check
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FAQ
How do I score 79 in PTE Listening?+
Plan by contribution: practise Repeat Sentence for every word, spell every Write from Dictation and Fill in the Blanks word correctly, avoid wrong clicks in the minus-marked tasks, and summarise main ideas with their links. No method guarantees a score; a mock test shows which task is holding you back.
Which questions contribute to the PTE Listening score?+
In PTE Academic: all eight Part 3 tasks plus Repeat Sentence, Retell Lecture, Answer Short Question and Summarize Group Discussion. In PTE Core: all seven Part 3 tasks plus Repeat Sentence and Answer Short Question (score guides, July 2025 and January 2026).
What is the PTE Listening marks contribution of each task?+
Pearson does not publish weights or marks per task. The score guides give item counts and scoring rules, which show that Repeat Sentence has the most items that feed Listening and that Write from Dictation scores every word.
Does Repeat Sentence count towards PTE Listening?+
Yes. In both PTE Academic and PTE Core, Repeat Sentence is scored for Listening and Speaking, with 10–12 items per test (Academic guide p. 16; Core guide p. 25).
Is there negative marking in PTE Listening?+
Yes, in two tasks: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers and Highlight Incorrect Words take one point off for each wrong choice, with a minimum of 0 per item. Write from Dictation and Fill in the Blanks have no penalty, but a misspelled word scores 0.
What IELTS score is PTE Listening 79 equal to?+
There is no exact equivalent. Pearson's July 2025 alignment table places PTE Listening 75–80 beside IELTS 8.5, as an estimate (PTE Academic Score Guide p. 12).
How many questions are in PTE Listening?+
Part 3 of PTE Academic has 15–22 items across eight task types; PTE Core has 10–17 across seven. Speaking tasks in Part 1 add more items that also feed Listening.
Sources
- PTE Academic Score Guide for Test Takers (July 2025): p. 6 (integrated questions); pp. 7–8 (Content and Form 0 rule); p. 9 (minimums); p. 12 (IELTS alignment, "current best estimate"); pp. 16–28 (Part 1 tasks that feed Listening); pp. 41–44 (Part 3 Listening)
- PTE Core Score Guide for Test Takers (January 2026): p. 5 (integrated tasks); p. 6 (Content and Form 0 rule); p. 9 (CLB alignment); pp. 25–26 (Repeat Sentence); p. 30 (Answer Short Question); pp. 36–38 (Part 3 Listening)
- Pearson PTE Academic and PTE Core test format pages (Listening): Summarize Spoken Text: 10 minutes (Academic), 8 minutes (Core); Part 3 31–39 and 22–37 minutes
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