Did the 2025 PTE Changes Affect PTE Core? Templates, AI Scoring, and Human Review
No. Pearson's 2025 update, which added human review of content and two new speaking tasks, applies only to PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI. Pearson says directly that PTE Core and PTE Home are not affected. PTE Core is still machine scored with the same tasks and the same two hour format. That does not make templates safe, though. PTE Core's own Score Guide already scores memorized material at zero for Content on the tasks where people lean on it most.
What changed in PTE Academic in 2025?
Most of the advice circulating online about "the new PTE" is about PTE Academic. If you are preparing for PTE Core for Canadian immigration, check which test a tip is written for before you act on it.
| Change announced in 2025 | PTE Academic | PTE Core |
|---|---|---|
| Human experts double mark content alongside AI | Yes, on 7 question types | No |
| New task: Respond to a Situation | Added | Already part of the test |
| New task: Summarize Group Discussion | Added | Not a PTE Core task |
| Test length | About two hours | About two hours, unchanged |
| Memorized material penalized | Yes | Yes, through the Content trait |
On PTE Academic, the double marked question types are Describe Image, Retell Lecture, Summarize Written Text, Write Essay, Summarize Spoken Text, Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation. Pearson says its human experts use the same published rating scales as the AI, and never score pronunciation or fluency, which stay with the machine.
How is PTE Core scored?
PTE Core is computer based and machine scored. Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide explains that human expert scorers rate test taker responses on every speaking and writing item to train the scoring engine, and the system then replicates the standards those human ratings set. Written responses are scored by Pearson's Intelligent Essay Assessor, and spoken responses by its Versant speech technology.
Tasks earn points in one of two ways. Some are simply correct or incorrect. Others, including the speaking and writing tasks, earn partial credit across several traits such as Content, Form, Oral Fluency and Pronunciation. The one place a human scores your actual test is a rescore, which you request and pay for after your results arrive. Our guide to how PTE Core is scored covers how those task scores roll up into the 10 to 90 scale.
Can you use templates in PTE Core?
The answer turns on the difference between a structure and a script. A structure is a plan for what to cover: in Describe Image, the main trend, two or three key details, and a conclusion. A script is a block of memorized sentences you recite whatever the image shows. PTE Core rewards the first and penalizes the second.
The Score Guide is explicit. On Describe Image, a Content score of 0 describes a response that "may not deal properly with the prompt due to significant amounts of pre-prepared/memorized material". Write Email carries the same wording, and on that task a Content score of 0 ends scoring for the response, so it earns no points at all, however good the grammar and spelling are. On Respond to a Situation, the lowest Appropriacy band describes a response of "mainly pre-packaged forms" that do not relate coherently to the situation.
| Task | Where memorized material hurts | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Describe Image | Content can drop to 0 | Name the real trend and real figures from the image |
| Write Email | Content 0 means no points for the whole email | Answer every point in the prompt, in its register |
| Respond to a Situation | Lowest Appropriacy band | Respond to the specific person and problem described |
Why templates feel like they work
A memorized opener helps you start speaking without a pause, and the scoring engine does reward fluency. That is real, and it is why templates spread. The problem is what happens after the opener. If the next twenty seconds are generic filler that could describe any image, Content suffers, and on PTE Core Content is the gate. Borrow the fluency benefit without the risk by using a short, flexible structure and filling it with what is actually on screen.
How to prepare for PTE Core now
- Filter advice by test. Skip tips about Summarize Group Discussion, Retell Lecture or Write Essay. None of those are PTE Core tasks.
- Build structures, not scripts. Practise a free Describe Image question using the trend, details, conclusion plan, and describe what is actually there.
- Answer the prompt you are given. Try a free Write Email question and a free Respond to a Situation question, and check that every point in the prompt is covered.
- Test under real conditions. Sit a full PTE Core practice test to see how your responses score before test day.
For the full breakdown of both productive skills, read PTE Core Speaking and Writing: The Complete Guide, and if you are still unsure which test you need, see PTE Core vs PTE Academic.