Which PTE task type is hardest: average AI score by task
Write Essay is the hardest AI-scored PTE task in RealPTE practice: its average score is 39/90 across 26 students, against 75/90 for Read Aloud.
Average AI score by task type, hardest first
| Task type | Students | Attempts | Average score | Median | At the lowest score (10) | Under 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write Essay | 26 | 48 | 39 | 42 | — | — |
| Answer Short Question | 30 | 128 | 48 | 10 | 52% | 52% |
| Summarize Written Text | 35 | 145 | 48 | 54 | — | 43% |
| Retell Lecture | 35 | 128 | 64 | 71 | — | — |
| Respond to a Situation | 34 | 181 | 68 | 71 | — | — |
| Describe Image | 82 | 490 | 71 | 74 | — | 6% |
| Repeat Sentence | 131 | 1889 | 74 | 77 | 4% | 5% |
| Read Aloud | 159 | 1657 | 75 | 86 | 4% | 14% |
Lowest score: the attempt got 10, the bottom of the 10–90 scale (often a silent or cut-off recording). A share is shown only when at least 20 students are on each side of it.
Reading and listening tasks marked by rules: share of answers right
| Task type | Students | Attempts | Answers right |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening: Fill in the Blanks (Type In) | 34 | 323 | 50% |
| Highlight Incorrect Words | 25 | 246 | 51% |
| Reading: Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) | 53 | 535 | 55% |
| Reorder Paragraphs | 32 | 952 | 66% |
| Reading: Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) | 22 | 392 | 70% |
Write from Dictation, marked by RealPTE's word rules (no AI)
| Measure | Students | Attempts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Words right | 37 | 511 | 64% |
Each typed word is matched to the sentence by rule. “Words right” is the share of the sentence's words typed correctly; the rule score puts the same count on the 10–90 scale.
How this data was collected
- Sample: 258 students · 7,625 attempts · 9 October 2026 to 21 October 2026.
- Every AI-scored attempt (speaking and writing) in RealPTE practice; objective reading and listening tasks are shown separately as the share of answers right, and Write from Dictation by its rule-based marks. The sample line counts all of them.
- A task type is listed only with at least 20 different students.
- AI scores are RealPTE's practice estimates on Pearson's 10–90 scale, not official PTE scores; Pearson's own scoring can differ.
- Every figure on this page is based on at least 20 different students; smaller groups are not shown. Only totals are published, never a single student’s results.
- The report is about students’ practice and results. It does not show any test questions or question text.
- Recalculated every week from new practice; the update date above shows the latest run.
Questions students ask
Which PTE task type is the hardest?
In RealPTE practice, Write Essay: the average AI score was 39 out of 90 over 48 attempts by 26 students.
Which PTE task type do students score best on?
Read Aloud, with an average of 75/90.
Why do some attempts get the lowest score?
A score of 10 usually means the recording was silent, cut off, or off the task, so getting the format right is the first step.
Cite this data
RealPTE practice data, October 2026. “Which PTE Task Is Hardest? Average AI Scores by Task (Practice Data)”. https://realpte.com/pte-data/pte-hardest-task-types
You are welcome to quote these figures with a link to this page.
More RealPTE practice data
- The 8 words PTE students misread most in Read Aloud and Repeat Sentence
- Where PTE students lose the most points, task by task
- The 5 most common PTE writing mistakes in grammar, spelling and form
- PTE speaking fluency: how often students pause, task by task
- When PTE practice happens: busiest hours and days by country, in local time
Check your own answers the same way: RealPTE marks every word and pause, free every day.
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