I took the PTE Core Test!

I took the PTE Core from Pearson! As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is a new test from Pearson used for permanent residency and citizenship applications.  As usual, I must type a few notes while the test is still fresh in my mind:

1. I took this test at the “Pearson Professional Center” near Seoul City Hall.  Like most test centers in Korea, this is a very nice facility.  It is clean and modern and there is no noise from outside.  The staff speak Korean and English. My registration process was orderly.  Earplugs were provided.  The headset mic was not the noise canceling type, but a separate pair of noise canceling earmuffs was provided for use during non-speaking parts of the test.  Tall dividers between terminals helped a bit too (but see below).  I wish everyone could take their tests at such a nice test center.  How much do test center conditions affect scores on this and other tests?  I couldn’t take pictures inside the center, but I will post a few snapshots from outside an in the hallway in a gallery below.
2. I was given a locker to store my belongings.  I noticed that locker number 4 was labeled 3b.  Locker number 13 was labeled 12b. Cute
3. I counted about nine people in the room with me, all of whom were taking the PTE-A. I chatted with the test center staff afterward, and learned that demand for the PTE-A is way, way up in Korea.  I was told, though, that the PTE-Core is taken only once in a while.
4. A Chinese national was at the test center to take the GMAT.  Remember those stories of Chinese citizens flying to Korea to take tests?  Apparently this test center gets PTE test-takers from all over the world.
5. Security is tight:  my palms were scanned seven times before I began the test, and once afterward.  I was photographed, my signature was confirmed and I was quizzed on the spelling of my name.
6. I was handed a test taker rules sheet for the PTE-A as I waited.  When I brought this to the attention of the staff, I was handed a PTE-Home rules sheet.  Indeed, it seems the PTE-Core is not frequently taken.
7. This was my first time taking a test in a full test center since before the pandemic.  I must admit that the noise from other test takers sometimes made it hard to focus.  My recommendation to test takers (both PTE-A and Core) might be to dawdle while reading the untimed instructions at the beginning of the test, which could create an opportunity to answer the final speaking questions without any distractions.  That’s what I did.
8. The test content is mostly general English, but with a few academic English items. You can go through the Pearson website to get an idea of what the test contains. As I mentioned in an earlier post, like the PTE this test contains a numerous and varied items. This differentiates it from some older tests that focus on fewer and longer items.
9. The test seems to closely resemble the prep materials provided on the Pearson website. I didn’t notice any glaring differences.  Test takers should go through everything that the Pearson website contains.  That said, I wish there was more to review.
10. A few things are worth remembering if you are helping someone prepare for this test.  First up: all of the “describe the image” questions I got were about charts and graphs.  I was expecting to mostly describe pictures, since that is what Pearson’s practice test includes.  I wasn’t totally thrown off my game, though, since the “learn about” pages for the test on Pearson’s website include graph-based questions.
11. Second: There is a penalty for exceeding the word count range stated in the writing questions.  Sometimes that penalty means you get a score of zero.  I knew about this penalty because I had read Pearson’s prep materials.  But the penalty is not mentioned during the test.  Had I not read those materials I would have significantly exceeded the stated word count range every single time.  Staying below the limit is hard, and must be a part of any practice regimen.
12. Third:  the listening section contains some audio snippets that seem to be taken from news broadcasts and other real-world sources.  They have a ton of background noise and sub-par audio, as you might expect.  The practice materials from Pearson don’t seem to represent this; the ones I listened to all had perfectly clear audio.
13. For a test used solely for immigration to Canada, there is a heckuva lot of British accented speech here.  And I also heard one particular verb that I am certain 9/10 Canadians have never used in the given context.
14. I spotted two (possibly three) grammar/language use errors in test items.  I suppose that is a consequence of generating items with AI.
15. My score was reported in about one hour.  No kidding.  I’ll post a copy of my score report a bit later.  I received a score of 90, which equates to a CLB of 10.