1. business and industrial
2. business operations

BTEC Operations
Getting Started Understanding BTEC & Making
Quality Count
NQF BTEC Level 1 & 2 Awards in
Mathematical Applications
BTEC Operations
Why BTEC?
• Vocationally related qualifications
• Progression between BTEC Level 1 & 2
qualifications
• Assessment methodology
• Support
• Recognition
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BTEC Operations
Matching qualifications to learner
needs - BTEC
• Work related qualifications
• Retention and achievement through the range of
qualifications
• Overall achievement measured as Pass, Merit or
Distinction
• Individual unit grades recorded on NoP certificate
• Progression opportunities
3
BTEC Operations
BTEC Mathematical Applications on the
NQF
Qualification
Level 1 Award
Level 2 Award
First Certificate
First Diploma
National Award
National Certificate
National Diploma
4
NQF Level Units
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
2
2
3
6
6
12
18
GLH
Equivalence
90
90
180
360
360
720
1080
1GCSE D - G
1GCSE A - C
2 GCSE A* - C
4 GCSE A* - C
1 GCE A - E
2 GCE A - E
3 GCE A - E
BTEC Operations
Timelines - Overview
Check exact
dates for 2006-7
with your
Quality Nominee
Date
Action
By 1st November
Centres register for programmes that started in Sept/October
By December
Quality nominees (QNs) informed of external verifiers (EVs). EVs
contact QNs to negotiate selected units for National Standards
Sampling and arrange for assignment briefs to be sent
Jan 1st – 31st May NSS takes place for all First Diplomas, National Awards,
Certificates, Diplomas and BTEC Short Courses including any resampling
End March
QNs check the NSS arrangements are in place to ensure sampling
has been or is taking place
By end May
QNs check that all programmes have been sampled and all
remedial action undertaken promptly
By early July
When programmes have achieved a release on NSS on all units
and assessment is complete, SRFs with grades for all units
submitted to Edexcel by early July
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BTEC Operations
Programme Teams
• Importance of staff development for whole team
• Key roles of Programme Manager and Internal Verifier
• Planning the programme as a team
• Understanding the links between assignments and unit
grading criteria
• Understanding how the NQF assessment model works
• Importance of Edexcel deadlines
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BTEC Operations
Programme Planning
• Unit sequencing
• Unit delivery – single units and/or integrated units
• Teaching and learning styles
• Assignment planning and unit/criteria coverage
• Assessment planning
• Internal verification and standardisation
• Vocational links and/or work placement
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BTEC Operations
Teaching and Learning
• Experiential
• Active
• Vocationally relevant
• Group and individual activities
• Independent learning
• Teacher facilitated
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BTEC Operations
Induction Process
• Importance of the induction process to learners
• Meeting all assessment deadlines
• Explaining the assessment model
• Give the “learning for work” message
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BTEC Operations
Unit Delivery
• You are autonomous!
• Map unit criteria coverage to ensure that there are
opportunities for evidence to be produced
• Plan - “long thin”, “short fat”, integrated, individual
• Plan assessment times - minor/major,
formative/summative
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BTEC Operations
The Basic Structure of Units
Unit Title
Description
Learning Outcomes
Content
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Information for Teachers
Assessment Guidance
BTEC Operations
Unit Abstract, Learning outcomes
• The unit abstract summarises the context of the unit within
the qualification
• The learning outcomes give an overview of what the learner
is expected to do to achieve the unit
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BTEC Operations
Grading Criteria, Essential guidance for
tutors
• The grading criteria are set out in the grading grid of the
unit specification
• Essential Guidance for tutors:
• Delivery
• Assessment
• Links
• Essential resources
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BTEC Operations
Unit Content (1)
• The unit content provides the programme of learning for the
successful completion of the learning outcomes
• Each learning outcome has prescribed content, key phrases
or concepts listed in italics
• Sub lists preceded by e.g. are indicative and therefore not
all listed items have to be delivered
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BTEC Operations
Unit Content (2)
• Sub lists without e.g. are prescriptive and must be delivered
• Assessment is based on evidence to meet the grading criteria
and will include relevant areas of the unit content as
described in “essential guidance for tutors” on assessment
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BTEC Operations
NQF BTEC Assessment Model
• Evidence is assessed through the application of
contextualised grading criteria
• Assignment briefs are used as a means of providing an
evidence generating opportunity
• The assessed material may be used to form a portfolio of
evidence
• The portfolio of evidence is used to demonstrate
achievement of the unit grading criteria and learning
outcomes
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BTEC Operations
Points to consider when devising
assignment briefs
• Will one assignment cover all grading criteria?
• If not – how will you divide the unit criteria across a number
of assignments?
• Will units be individually assessed or will you have
integrated assessments across units?
• How will you track criteria assessed and achieved across
integrated assignments?
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BTEC Operations
Points to consider when devising
assignment briefs
• How will you schedule assignments across the course so that
learners have a balanced programme?
• How will you use formative assessment sessions to encourage
learners’ achievement?
• Remember to refer to “Essential guidance for tutors” on
delivery and assessment
• Break down the assignment brief into bite-sized tasks
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BTEC Operations
Designing Tasks
• Tasks should allow the learner to fully achieve the grading
criteria at pass, merit or distinction
• Note differentiation in grading criteria:
• Pass – demonstrate, identify, describe, select, use
• Merit – explain, analyse, monitor, compare
• Distinction – assess, evaluate, interpret, justify
• Tasks should not just repeat the grading criteria
• As a general rule – an individual grading criterion should not
be split between different assignments
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BTEC Operations
Assessment Evidence
Can take many forms:
• written - formal essays, evaluations, notebooks
• verbal - recording, viva
• records - logbooks, timesheets, plans, tutor observation
and witness statements, photographic/digital
• practical work within the specialist area of the
qualification
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BTEC Operations
Unit Grading
• Assignments that do not address all the unit grading criteria
should not be graded - only award the individual grading
criteria achieved
• Unit grading should be carried out ONLY when all unit
assignments are complete and the opportunity has been
given for learners to meet all unit grading criteria
• Pass
= ALL Pass criteria achieved
• Merit
= ALL Pass and ALL Merit criteria achieved
• Distinction = ALL Pass, ALL Merit and ALL Distinction criteria
achieved
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BTEC Operations
Quality Assurance - What does it mean?
• Internal Verification (IV)
• External Verification (EV)
• Safety of certificated outcomes for individual learners
• Guarantee to end users that these outcomes are common
nation-wide
• Audited by QCA
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BTEC Operations
IV - What does this mean for you?
• IV is the responsibility of the programme team
• Ongoing and continuous process, sampling assessors &
learners
• Have a lead IV to co-ordinate and manage processes,
timings etc
• Is supportive of assessors and guarantees fair practice for
learners
• Should advise and guide where decisions are questioned
• Squares the quality circle
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BTEC Operations
IV Assignment Briefs
Internally verify centre-devised assignments briefs before
issue to the learner:
• Tasks and evidence should allow the learner to address
the targeted criteria
• Language and level should be appropriate
• Learner roles and tasks should be vocationally relevant
• Check any recommendations are carried out
• Sign and date all paperwork
• Keep records – audit trail
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BTEC Operations
Standardising Assessment Decisions
When to do it:
• If more than one assessor on same unit
• More than one team/site
• New assessor
• New standards
• Issues following external verification
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BTEC Operations
IV Assessment Decisions
• Internal verification schedule
• Formative sampling
• Summative sampling
• Sign and date all paperwork
• Keep records secure in “Quality files”
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BTEC Operations
External Verification - What does this
mean for you?
External Verifiers (EV)
• verify the quality of your assessment decisions
• release or block certification
• report on the quality of your assignments
• report on the quality of your IV systems
• uphold the national standard and the reputation of the
qualifications
• offer a balanced, specialist and professional approach
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BTEC Operations
NSS – External Verifiers
Allocated external verifiers will:
• Contact centre BTEC Quality Nominees/Programme Coordinators
• Liaise with BTEC Quality Nominee/Programme Co-ordinators
Negotiate which unit will be sampled
• Agree dates and provide templates for despatch of postal
sampling
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BTEC Operations
National Standards Sampling
• 4 assessed pieces of learner work for each unit
• Should have ALL relevant material with sample
• One unit for the BTEC Awards in Mathematical
Applications
• Should be done as early as possible to carry out any
necessary remedial action
• Sample is negotiated with programme team
• Date of sample and unit selected should not be changed
• Expect feedback at the end of the process plus report
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BTEC Operations
Reporting Grades
• Unit grades reported on the SRF as P, M or D
• U must be entered if the assignments for that unit
have been completed but not all Pass criteria met
• Both units must be passed to achieve the full
award
• Qualification grade calculated from unit grades
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BTEC Operations
Unit Grades and points
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Unit Grade
Units 1a/2a
Units 1b/2b
U
0
0
P
5
4
M
10
8
D
15
12
BTEC Operations
Qualification Points and Grades
32
Boundaries
Overall Grade
0-8
U
9 - 16
P
17 - 24
M
25 - 27
D
BTEC Operations
Qualification Grades & SCAAT Points
BTEC L1 Award in
Mathematical Applications
Qualification SCAAT Points
Grade
33
BTEC L2 Award in
Mathematical Applications
Qualification
Grade
SCAAT Points
P
19
P
40
M
28
M
49
D
34
D
55