Four scores, each from its own set of items, each with its own minimum in most requirements. Your weakest one decides more than your overall.
Glossary term
Communicative Skills
The communicative skills are the four scores on every PTE report: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing, each on the 10–90 scale. Each is computed from the items that assess that skill, and integrated items count towards both of the skills they assess. They are the numbers visa authorities and institutions set minimums on.
Beneath the overall score, four circles labelled Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing, repeated in the Skills Breakdown bar chart.
Which items feed which skill
Pearson’s score guide lists the communicative skills each item assesses. Some are single: Describe Image is Speaking only, Write Essay is Writing only, the reading multiple-choice items are Reading only. Many are integrated: Repeat Sentence and Retell Lecture are Listening and Speaking, Write From Dictation and Summarize Spoken Text are Listening and Writing, Summarize Written Text is Reading and Writing, Highlight Incorrect Words and Highlight Correct Summary are Listening and Reading.
The two tests differ. In PTE Academic since the 2025 update, Read Aloud is Speaking only and Answer Short Question is Listening only; in PTE Core, Read Aloud is Reading and Speaking and Answer Short Question is Listening and Speaking. The dropdown reading blanks feed Writing as well in Core but not in Academic.
Planning by skill
Because the item-to-skill map is known, a weak skill points to specific tasks. Low Listening in Academic usually means Repeat Sentence, Write From Dictation and Summarize Spoken Text, which together carry a large share of the Listening items and are all trainable. Low Writing points to the essay and the two summaries, plus dictation spelling. Low Reading points to the dropdown blanks, which have the most items, and to Summarize Written Text.
Until November 2021 the report also showed six “enabling skills”. Those were removed; the four communicative skills and the overall are all that institutions see.
The numbers that matter
| Scale | 10–90 each |
|---|---|
| Speaking is fed by | Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Retell Lecture, Respond to a Situation, Summarize Group Discussion (Academic); Core adds Answer Short Question |
| Writing is fed by | Summarize Written Text, Write Essay or Write Email, Summarize Spoken Text, Write From Dictation; Core adds dropdown blanks and Listening Fill in the Blanks |
| Reading is fed by | All five reading items, Summarize Written Text, Highlight Correct Summary, Highlight Incorrect Words; Core adds Read Aloud |
| Listening is fed by | All eight listening items, Repeat Sentence, Retell Lecture, Summarize Group Discussion, Answer Short Question |
Worked example
A learner scores 74 overall with Listening at 60. The mock review shows Repeat Sentence averaging Content 1, dictation losing three words a sentence, and Summarize Spoken Text at Content 2. All three feed Listening and two of them feed Writing as well. Six weeks on those three tasks moves Listening and Writing together; the reading items, which were fine, need nothing.
What it shows: A skill score is a sum of specific items, and the items tell you what to practise.
Frequently asked questions
What are the four communicative skills in PTE?
Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing, each scored 10–90 from the items that assess that skill. Integrated items count towards both skills they assess, which is why the overall is not their average.
Why is one of my skill scores much lower than the others?
Because each skill is fed by different items. Listening depends heavily on Repeat Sentence, Write From Dictation and Summarize Spoken Text; Writing on the essay and summaries plus dictation spelling. A low skill points to the tasks that feed it.
Do enabling skills still appear on the PTE score report?
No. Pearson removed the six enabling skills in November 2021. The report shows the overall and the four communicative skills only.
More PTE terms
AI ScoringAppropriacyCEFRCLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks)Competent, Proficient and Superior EnglishConcordance (PTE to IELTS)ContentDevelopment, Structure and CoherenceEmail ConventionsEnhanced PTE Academic (August 2025)Erasable NoteboardExpress EntryFormGeneral Linguistic RangeGrammarHuman ReviewMock TestmyPTENegative MarkingOne Skill RetakeOral FluencyPartial CreditPersonal IntroductionPronunciationPTE CorePTE HomeReschedule and Cancellation PolicyRescoreScore BandScore Report CodeScore ValidityScoring TraitsSELT (Secure English Language Test)Sending ScoresShared Clock (Reading and Listening)SpellingThree-Second Silence RuleUKVIURN (Unique Reference Number)Vocabulary