Students who took the vocational qualifications BTecs have finally started receiving their revised grades on Tuesday, after facing delays and uncertainty along with A-Level and GCSE students.
BTec students were supposed to get their results last week on the same day as GCSE grades were announced, but exam board Pearson pulled the results at the last minute, deciding instead it would re-evaluate the grades to bring them in line with reviewed A-Level and GCSEs grades.
Many students taking Level 3 qualifications will be eager to find out if the grades they receive will be enough to secure a place at university.
Here’s what you need to know about BTec and how they match up to GCSEs and A-Levels.
What are BTecs and how do they compare to GCSEs and A-Levels?
BTecs are vocational qualifications that can be taken in sectors including business, IT, engineering and ICT.
There are over 2,000 BTec qualifications across 16 sectors.
Level 2 BTecs, including BTecFirsts, are equivalent to GCSEs and are most commonly taken by people aged 14 to 16.
Level 1 and 2 BTEC Tech Awards are equivalent to GCSE grades A to E, according to exam board Pearson.
Level 2 BTec Firsts are roughly the same as GCSE Grades A* to C.
Level 3 BTecs including BTec Nationals area similar level of learning as A-Levels, and can be taken to progress to university or to go straight into employment. These are most commonly taken by those aged 16 and over.
BTecs can also form part of an apprenticeship scheme.
How are BTECs assessed?
BTec students generally undertake a series of assignments throughout the year including applying their learning and skills to work-based contexts, group assessments, and various other tests. Assessments could be written or practical.
Some BTEC courses also include an external assessment, taken either during or at the end of the course, which counts for a proportion of the final grade.
The high coursework element in BTecs makes the qualification a more preferable choice for those who do not like exams, as most assessments take place throughout the course rather than at the end of the year.
When are results out this year and what has Pearson said?
Pearson had initially planned to release results last week but decided to regrade them to ensure BTec students are not put at a disadvantage after A-Level and GCSE results were regraded.
Initially, a grading algorithm had resulted in many students getting downgraded results, but following a government u-turn, GCSE and A-Level grades were re-assessed so students got their teacher predicted grades if these were higher.
Now BTec results have also been held back, so Pearson could reassess them to assure students were treated fairly to those who took A-Levels and GCSEs.
Exams being regraded are BTec Level 3 Nationals (2010 QCF and 2016 RQF) which are roughly equivalent to A-Levels, as well as BTec Level 1/2 Tech Awards, BTec Level 2 Technical and BTec Level 1/2 Firsts.
Cindy Rampersaud, senior vice-president of BTec and Apprenticeships, said in a statement that the decision to withhold the results was “in the interests of BTec learners and to ensure fairness for them following Ofqual’s decision to award centre assessment grades for A-levels and GCSEs.”
“Our priorities are to deliver fair outcomes for BTec students in relation to A-levels and GCSEs and to ensure that no student is disadvantaged,” she added.
The exam board has started releasing Level 3 qualification grades today so that students who need to apply for universities are a priority.
“We are reviewing results at Level 3, including those with UCAS requirements, as an absolute priority and will start releasing those to schools/colleges from August 25,” Pearson said.
All other results will be available by 28 August latest, according to Pearson.
BTEC points and UCAS Tariffs explained
BTec points can be used to apply to universities using a system of UCAS tariff points.
The UCAS tariff system puts a numerical value on the grades achieved by students taking qualifications including BTecs and A-Levels.
Some university courses ask for a certain amount of UCAS tariff points as part of their entry requirements. Others ask for specific grades in certain subject areas.
Many university courses accept BTec grades as part of their entry requirements based on the UCAS tariffs. It is worth checking with individual universities and courses.
Here is how BTec grades can be converted to UCAS tariff points for some of the most popular BTec qualifications.
For more information and to check how your grades compare, see UCAS’s Tariff Points calculator.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma
Grade Tariff points
- D*D*D* – 168
- D*D*D – 160
- D*DD – 152
- DDD – 144
- DDM – 128
- DMM – 112
- MMM – 96
- MMP – 80
- MPP – 64
- PPP – 48
Size band:4+4+4 = 12
Grade bands:4-14
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma
Grade Tariff points
- D*D* – 112
- D*D – 104
- DD – 96
- DM – 80
- MM – 64
- MP – 48
- PP – 32
Size band:4+4 = 8
Grade bands:4-14
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma (510-540 GLH)
Grade Tariff points
- D* – 84
- D – 72
- M – 48
- P – 24
Size band:3+3 = 6
Grade bands:4-14
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate
Grade Tariff points
- D* – 56
- D – 48
- M – 32
- P – 16
Size band:4
Grade bands:4-14
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Certificate
Grade Tariff points
- D* – 28
- D – 24
- M – 16
- P – 8
Size band:2
Grade bands:4-14
For comparison, here is how A-Level results translate to UCAS Tariff points:
A level and Advanced VCEOfficial title: Advanced GCE and Advanced VCE
Grade Tariff points
- A* – 56
- A – 48
- B – 40
- C – 32
- D – 24
- E – 16
For more information, head toUcas’ website here.
