PET - How To Calculate Your Score

Calculating your score in the PET exam can be a little bit confusing and a lot of students ask me how to do it. My short answer is always this:

There are two different ‘scores’ in the PET exam. The first one shows you the marks you get for each correct answer and the second one is your score on the Cambridge English Scale which we can calculate from your marks. Your score on the Cambridge English Scale is what you can see on your certificate and it shows you your level for each of the five exam parts. You reach B1 level with a score between 140-160.

In this article we are going to have a look at both scoring systems so you will understand how it works and you’ll be able to calculate your own score.

Why are there two different scores?

The Cambridge English Scale is a new system that we have used for a few years. At the beginning, it was a little bit confusing because in the old system you passed the exam with 60% or more and failed if you had less than that.

In the new system the 60% rule is still true, but we simply don’t use percent any more. Instead, you add up all your marks in the test to get your first score and then transfer this to the score on the Cambridge English Scale. This is then what you can find on your certificate.

How does the Cambridge English Scale work?

The Cambridge English Scale is a system to give the results of all the different exams (KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CPE) to the students who take these tests. You can compare the scores more easily and see the different levels of difficulty between the exams.

Cambridge English Scale
Cambridge English Scale

You can see all the different Cambridge English exams and also a few other exams on the right so you can compare the results in different tests. B1 is the level in the red box with score between 140-160.

In the PET exam it is even possible to get a higher score than 160 and if you do so, the certificate tells you that you finished the test with B2 level. In the old system that wasn’t possible.

The four different parts of PET

In the PET exam you get an overall score (140-160 on the Cambridge English Scale), but you also get a score for each of the four parts Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. The overall score is the average of the four different parts.

1. Reading

In the Reading paper there are six parts with a total of 32 questions. You can get 32 marks if you answer all the questions correctly. The Reading paper counts 25% towards your total score.

2. Writing

The Writing test contains of two parts and for each text you write you can score 20 marks or 40 marks in total. The Writing paper is worth 25% of your final score.

3. Listening

In the Listening exam you find four parts with a combined 25 questions. You can score one mark for each questions which means that you can get 25 marks in total and the Listening paper counts 25% towards your final result.

4. Speaking

The Speaking exam covers four different parts and in each part you have to do different things. Everything combined can get you 25 marks and the Speaking paper, just like the other three, is worth 25% of your overall result.

Is it possible to fail the PET exam?

The good news is that you can’t really fail the exam. You always get a certificate, but, of course, the score that you get might not be good enough for your circumstances.

However, your goal should be to get an overall score on the Cambridge English Scale of at least 140. Basically, this is equal to 60% in the old pass/fail system. If your score in any of the four parts Reading, Writing, Listening or Speaking falls below 120, there won’t be a score for this part on your certificate.

If you need more information,…

you can get more information in the video below. It describes the Cambridge English Scale very well. If you want more information on the PET exam, click here and read my article that tells you everything you need to know about Cambridge B1 Preliminary.

I hope you know now how the Cambridge English Scale and the scoring in the PET exam work. If you have questions, leave a comment and I will try to help you as fast as possible.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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10 Comments

  1. I’m sorry, teacher, i forgot a short part of your article, but i don’t understand what do you mean when you say: “If your score in any of the four parts Reading, Writing, Listening or Speaking falls below 120, there won’t be a score for this part on your certificate.” that means that i won’t pass the exam?

    1. In Cambridge exams, there is no pass or fail grade. In B1 Preliminary, if you get a score of 140 or higher, it will say B1 on the certificate. If you score 120 or higher, it says A2. If you score less than 120, it won’t say any level. But also, if you score 160, it will say B2.

  2. what if i do less than 120 in a part of the exam? i know that there’s a minimum score in each part of the exam, but i don’t what is it!

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