OET Strategies
OET Remark Results: Does remark Actually Improve Your Score?
Oct
One of the most common questions I get from OET students is:
“Is it worth applying for a remark?”
A remark means requesting a re-evaluation of your OET results. If you’re not satisfied with a section score, you can pay AUD 120 to have it reassessed.
All sections — including Listening and Reading — can be remarked.
In this article, we’ll look at whether it’s actually effective, based on data from OET Bank students over the past several years.
Reading and Listening
Among OET Bank students, around 20 people have requested a remark for Listening or Reading in the past decade.
However — so far, not a single score has ever changed.
Listening Part A (the dictation section) allows minor spelling variations, but even in those borderline cases, no one’s score has increased after a remark.
The most likely reason is automation. The marking for these sections is largely machine-based, and anything that doesn’t match a predefined correct answer is automatically flagged as wrong.
(Frankly, if that’s the case, OET shouldn’t even allow remark requests for Listening or Reading…)
I also checked with other prep providers and international OET forums — none reported successful remark cases either.
For this reason, at OET Bank we don’t recommend requesting a remark for Reading or Listening anymore.
The only exception I’ve seen was one candidate — mentioned once on Reddit — whose score reportedly rose by about 10 points, but that’s the only known case so far.
Speaking
We’ve had roughly 50 students apply for a remark in Speaking.
About 80% of them saw their scores increase, while around 20% stayed the same. Hardly anyone’s score went down.
This makes sense because Speaking is evaluated by humans. Examiners listen to the recorded role-play and assess it against the OET rubrics, which leaves room for individual interpretation.
For example, some examiners view back-channels and empathetic phrases positively — seeing them as “good communication.”Others might mark them down as repetition.
Similarly, examiners familiar with international accents — especially Asian and Middle Eastern English — tend to understand and score more generously than those who are not used to them.
That’s why Speaking preparation should focus heavily on two areas:
- Expression range — being able to use flexible, natural phrases.
- Pronunciation at phrase level — not just word by word.
When a remark leads to an increase, it’s often by 20 to 30 points, and in some cases even 50 points or more.
So, if your Speaking score is around 320 to 330, while your other sections are above 350, it’s worth applying for a remark.
Has Speaking Become Stricter in 2025?
Recently, more students have told me things like:
“OET scoring feels stricter these days.”
OET hasn’t officially announced any rubric change, but similar discussions have appeared in overseas forums since early 2025.
Looking at OET Bank’s data, the overall pass rate hasn’t dropped.
However, when it comes to remark results, it’s true that fewer people are seeing a score increase this year compared to before.
That’s just my personal observation, but it’s a trend I’m keeping an eye on.
Writing
Around ten students at OET Bank have applied for a Writing remark so far.
Writing scores tend to fluctuate more than in any other section — typically by 20 to 30 points, and occasionally by as much as 80 points.
From what I’ve seen as a long-time OET instructor, small factors can have a surprisingly large impact on Writing scores.
Even though OET uses detailed rubrics, the context of the case notes, tone of the letter, and clarity of clinical reasoning are often interpreted differently by different assessors.
An essay that’s technically accurate but lacks a clear purpose focus — for example, failing to highlight the patient’s main issue early on — may be heavily penalized.
On the other hand, strong paragraphing and a natural flow of ideas can sometimes offset minor grammar issues.
This human element, combined with examiner variation, is what makes Writing scores so variable.
That’s also why, if your Writing score seems unusually low compared to your other sections, a remark can be just as worthwhile as for Speaking.
Final Thoughts
In short:
- Listening / Reading → Almost never change. Don’t waste your money.
- Speaking → Often improves (especially if your score is slightly below 350).
- Writing → May change if your original score seems unusually low.
A remark is always a gamble, but for Speaking and Writing, it can be a smart one — especially if you’re confident in your performance and need just a few more points to pass.
If you’re preparing for OET, consider exploring our practice resources at OET Bank.
We’re designed not just as mock tests, but as powerful review tools that make it easier to analyze weaknesses and focus on what’s needed to pass.
