Research and analysis

Grading Vocational and Technical Qualifications

The outcomes from an exploratory research project into grading practices within regulated Vocational and Technical Qualifications in England.

Applies to England

Documents

Overview: Grading Vocational and Technical Assessments

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Grading Vocational and Technical Qualifications

Grading Competence-Based Assessments

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Annexes: Grading Vocational and Technical Assessments

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Glossary: Grading Vocational and Technical Assessments

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Grading vocational and technical assessments

The primary aim of this research was to provide insight into the variety of grading practices in operation in vocational and technical qualifications. The project also aimed to consider what issues might arise in relation to the different approaches; and these were divided into two categories – short-term technical issues, and longer-term conceptual ones.

Grading competence-based assessments

Although England has a tradition of grading in technical and vocational education and training contexts, there is no identifiable literature, from the UK, on this topic. To develop a deeper understanding of this area, attention needed to be focused further afield. This report explores insights from a small literature, derived mainly from Australia, into the theory and practice of grading competence-based assessments. These reflect a particular approach to designing vocational and technical qualifications, which has become increasingly widespread since the early 1990s.

Updates to this page

Published 13 November 2018

Sign up for emails or print this page