The PTE includes negative markings in its reading and listening sections, which sets it apart from many other competitive government and international exams. The PTE exam employs AI (Artificial Intelligence) to evaluate responses and determine scores.
However, students often have some relevant questions like “Does the negative marking exist in the PTE exam?” or “How do negative marking schemes affect my score?”.
This article will help you to find the answer of your questions as well as what steps should you take to overcome this trouble.
Types of PTE Questions with Negative Marking
In the PTE reading and listening sections, negative markings will be applied.
Reading: Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
The PTE Reading section may feature 2 to 3 items from the MCCMA category. If you choose the wrong answers for all MCCMA questions in the Reading section, points will be deducted from your total Reading score. However, your score won’t drop below zero, as we previously agreed. Even though a wrong answer cancels out the points from a correct one, there’s no possibility of going negative.
Listening: Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
Similarly, you should find at least two MCCA questions in the Listening section of the PTE exam. A point earned for a correct answer will be nullified by a wrong answer. If all your responses to MCCA questions are incorrect, the points for those questions will be deducted from your overall Listening score.
Listening: Highlight Incorrect Words
In this section, you will listen to an audio recording while reviewing the provided transcription. Your task is to compare the audio with the transcript to ensure accuracy. If you hear a word that differs from what is written in the transcript, you need to click on that word to highlight it in yellow. However, be careful—if the word you select is similar to what you heard, your selection will be marked as incorrect, and you will lose one point for this section.
Format of Scoring
The PTE scoring system stands out from other competitive exams. It awards one point for each correct answer, while one point is deducted for each incorrect response. However, the minimum score is capped at zero.
If you select two correct answers and one incorrect, your total score would be 1 × 2 – 1 = 1.
On the other hand, in the opposite situation (one correct and two incorrect answers), your score would be 1 – 1 – 1 = -1.
As we discussed earlier, zero is the lowest possible score. So, in this section, you would receive a score of 0.
This is encouraging news for many PTE candidates, as they can skip several questions without risking a negative score.
Partial Credit & Negative Marking: The Difference
In exams with negative marking, answers are either right or wrong, with incorrect responses leading to a penalty or point deduction.
Partial credit allows candidates to earn a portion of the full marks for an answer that is “partially correct,” depending on how accurate or complete their response is. Additionally, incorrect answers do not result in negative marks.
- Partial Credit Without Negative Marking: Points are awarded for each correct answer. No points are lost for incorrect or unselected answers.
- Partial Credit With Negative Marking: Points are awarded for correct answers, and deductions are made for incorrect ones. However, there is no penalty for not selecting all the correct options. The minimum possible score is 0.
How To Reduce Negative Marking
Here are some strategies to help you avoid losing points and boost your scores.
Tips for MCCMA
While skipping an answer may help you avoid losing points, it also decreases your chances of attaining a higher score.
To achieve the best possible score in this question type, select all the options you believe are correct.
Avoid choosing an option if you are uncertain about its accuracy.
Tips for Highlight Incorrect Words
Although you might not receive full points for this question type, you can still earn points for providing several correct answers. There is no penalty for not identifying all the correct options.
Conclusion
Negative marking in the PTE is arguably one of the most challenging aspects of the test. While we’ve provided various tips to help reduce point deductions, consistent practice remains the key to achieving perfection.
We hope this article clarifies your confusion about negative marking in PTE. Polish your skills and take many mock tests to improve your abilities.
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