How does PTE map to CEFR levels?

Pearson aligns PTE Academic to the CEFR, with each band of PTE scores corresponding to a CEFR level. The full mapping is in the table on this page. Note that a CEFR level covers a range of PTE scores, so two people at the same level can differ substantially in score.

PTE to CEFR Converter — A2 to C2 Levels

PTE score65

CEFR

B2

Upper intermediate

PTE to CEFR band table

CEFR level	PTE Academic	What it means
C2	85–90	Proficient
C1	76–84	Advanced
B2	59–75	Upper intermediate
B1	43–58	Intermediate
A2	30–42	Elementary

What a CEFR level describes

The Common European Framework of Reference describes what someone can do with a language rather than how many points they scored. Each level is defined by can-do statements: the kinds of texts you can follow, the situations you can handle, how much support you need. Test providers align their scales to it so that a result can be expressed in a vocabulary shared across countries, employers and education systems. That makes CEFR useful for communicating your level to someone who has never heard of the test you sat. It also makes it coarse by design. A level is meant to summarise a stage of proficiency, not to distinguish finely between two people within that stage, and it was never intended to be used as an admissions threshold on its own.

Large score gains inside one level

This is the trap worth understanding before you set a target. CEFR levels are wide, so a substantial improvement in your PTE score can leave your CEFR level unchanged, and a very small improvement near a boundary can move you up a whole level. If a requirement is written in CEFR terms, the only thing that matters is which side of the boundary you land on, and the safest plan is to target a score comfortably clear of it rather than one that just reaches it. The reverse is also worth knowing: if two candidates hold the same CEFR level, their underlying scores may differ considerably, so a level is poor evidence of how you compare with someone else at the same level.

When the requirement is written in CEFR

Some employers, regulators and European institutions state their requirements as a CEFR level instead of a test score. In that case, find out which alignment they use before assuming this table applies. Providers publish their own alignments, and the body setting the requirement may have adopted a particular one or may specify the tests and levels it recognises directly. Ask whether the level is required overall or in each skill, since the two are very different targets when your profile is uneven. If you have a choice, ask for the requirement in test-score terms as well. A number is unambiguous, whereas a CEFR level leaves the exact score needed to demonstrate it dependent on whose mapping is being read.

Frequently asked questions

The Common European Framework of Reference describes language ability on a six-level scale from A1 to C2. Employers, universities and immigration systems across Europe and beyond use it as a common vocabulary for language requirements.

PTE to CEFR Converter