Welcome to this short introduction on applying mark schemes for internal assessments
in the BTEC Tech Awards from 2022.
We’ll start with a bit of context about why the 2022 Tech Awards now use mark schemes.
New DfE requirements stipulate that Awarding organisations must set internal assessments for
Technical Awards, so we have developed new Pearson Set Assignments or PSAs.
They will be released twice each year for all subjects except Art and Design
Practice which has one a year due to its different qualification structure.
Each PSA will be made available online well in advance of assessment windows to enable you to
prepare before delivering to learners and to fit in flexibly with your teaching timetable.
PSAs replace Authorised Assignment Briefs or centre set assignments in previous Tech
Awards qualifications, and must be used for the assessment of the internal components.
Each assignment will be based on a vocational context and contain a fixed number of tasks that
will assess the same set of skills in each PSA, so the mark schemes will remain the same for the
lifetime of the qualification. Only the vocational context will change in each assignment so you will
be well prepared each year for what to expect. The DfE also now require the assessment to be
marked numerically rather than graded. To address this, we have developed levels based
mark schemes which are based on the previous learning aims in most cases.
There are a total of 60 marks available per internally assessed Component with the
exception of Art and Design, which only has one internally assessed component worth 84 marks.
So applying the mark schemes.
Well a few things to note before we move on to the mark schemes themselves:
The mark schemes and the guidance for applying them that we are discussing here
can also be referred to in the ‘Your Assessment Decision’ section
of each PSA, as well as the ‘Marking Pearson Set Assignment' section
of the specification. The guidance explains how to apply a ‘best fit’ approach to marking.
Mark band descriptors and the range of marks available are not aligned to historic Pass,
Merit or Distinction grading criteria. Internal components will be awarded,
so the marks needed for an overall component grade is subject to change
and should not be used for determining the mark awarded to learners. We will however
publish a grade calculator following results day in each series which can be
used to benchmark progress and model potential qualification outcomes, but will not guarantee
actual grade outcomes for future series as these are subject to awarding in each series.
It’s worth noting that applying marks rather than grades makes the assessments and qualification
overall more compensatory. Learners can have high performance against some skills or tasks,
and weaker performance in others, but will take the total marks forward towards the
qualification outcome, rather than taking away a pass for a component where they may have had
a mixture of Pass, Merit and Distinctions as can be the case with the previous Tech Awards.
This better reflects learners’ achievement.
Centre Standardisation Materials which contain marked examples of learner work and commentary
will be provided each year. These replace previous OSCA materials and can be accessed in the same way
through Edexcel Online, however they will now remain available as an archive of work
to refer to and no longer require you to verify that you have used them.
Now let’s look at how the mark schemes are applied and set up.
We have designed each levels based mark scheme for internal assessment with the same simple
structure. There are 12 marks per marking grid divided into 4 mark bands, each containing 3 marks
representing the bottom, middle and top of each band, making best-fit decisions more consistent
and reliable to apply. Each grid of 12 marks relates to either a single task or sub-task,
however some subjects align them to learning outcomes.
After applying the mark schemes a few times, they will become second nature due to this
consistent approach. This mark scheme is an example from the Enterprise Tech Award,
but the principles we are discussing apply to all Tech Award subjects.
Each mark band contains descriptors which specify the level or quality of knowledge,
understanding and skill that learners are required to demonstrate
to be awarded one of the marks associated within that band.
Each descriptor is made up of a number of bulleted ‘traits’ which help to break
down the different elements of knowledge, understanding and/or skill being assessed.
The descriptors for each band are written to reflect the marks at the top of the mark band.
A glossary of terms used in the marking grids is provided in Appendix 1 of the specification.
So using a ‘best fit approach’ to marking the learner evidence, you will:
● first make a holistic judgement on which mark band most closely matches
the relevant learner evidence. ● then consideration should be
given to the descriptors in the mark bands above and below your best fit judgment
to ensure the correct band is selected. ● The learner’s response does not have to
meet all the traits of a mark band’s descriptor before being placed in the mark band, as long
as it meets more of the characteristics of that mark band than of any other.
For example, a learner’s response may meet two traits from one mark band reasonably well,
but meets the 3rd trait in the mark band below. In these cases, you must
use your professional judgement as a subject specialist and understanding of the assessment
to determine whether it should be placed in the higher band or the lower band.
After placing the learner’s response within a mark band, the assessor should then make a more refined
judgement as to whether the learner’s response is towards the higher, lower or middle point
of the mark range for that mark band, and allocate a final mark accordingly.
If all bulleted traits met are within the same mark band, the assessor should take into account
how well the learner’s response meets the requirements of the descriptor in that band:
If the learner’s response meets the requirements of the descriptor fully, assessors should be
prepared to award full marks within the mark band. The top mark in the mark band is used
for a learner’s response that is as good as can realistically be expected in that mark band.
If the learner’s response only barely meets the requirements of the descriptor
(but is better than the previous descriptor), assessors should consider
awarding marks at the bottom end of the mark band. The bottom mark in the mark
band is used for a learner’s response that is the weakest that can be expected in that mark band.
The middle marks of the mark band are for a learner’s response that is a reasonable match
to the descriptor. This might represent a balance between some characteristics
of the descriptor that are fully met and others that are only barely met.
If a learner’s response meets traits from across different mark bands, starting with
your professional judgement about which band is the ‘best fit’, refine the mark based on
how many of the traits were met within that band, how well they were met, and any traits met within
bands above or below that may bring that mark towards the top or bottom of the best fit band.
Where there is no evidence worthy of credit,
a mark of 0 for that part of the assessment must be awarded. However, bear in mind that a mark of
0 for one mark scheme may not lead to a grade of U (unclassified) for the component overall
if sufficient marks are gained in the other mark schemes.
The Tech Awards are now fully compensatory,
so even a result of U (unclassified) for one Component may not prevent a learner from
achieving the qualification if sufficient marks are gained in the other Components.
Once you have decided on a mark out of 12 for each mark scheme,
you should record them and total them on an Assessment record sheet.
There is now a single Assessment Record Sheet per learner for the internally assessed components
where you will record the marks out of 12 you have awarded for each task or learning outcome,
and the total mark for the component. It also provides space for feedback to the learner,
and combines the Learner and Assessor declaration of authenticity.
This is a considerable reduction in administration required by centres.
We have provided this exemplar which can be used for any internal components;
however, this is not mandatory to use, and centres may produce their own documentation
providing the information in the Pearson exemplar as a minimum.
Centres will submit a sample of learner’s work along with the assessment record for
each sampled learner for moderation. This will generally be a sample of 10 learners.
And just a final reminder of a few of the key benefits we’ve introduced into
the assessment of the overall suite of redeveloped Tech Awards qualifications.
As mentioned earlier, assessment is compensatory within components and across the
qualification - anywhere learners gain marks, these are added to the total towards a grade.
Component grades are no longer restricted to the lowest grade achieved within the component.
There are no longer any minimum grade requirements in any component, so an Unclassified result
in any of the components will not prevent a learner from achieving the qualification
providing they gain sufficient marks in other the components.
This gives your learners more opportunities to achieve and better captures their true ability.
And unique to BTEC Tech Awards, the moderation process includes direct feedback and you will be
given time to address any issues with assessment before they impact on the learner’s final results.
We have separate bitesize videos on Moderation, Quality Assurance and Administration,
and using the Assessment Record Sheet that you can watch for an overview of these processes, as well
as a full Centre Guide to Quality Assurance which you can download for more information.
We hope you have found this video informative,
and if you have any questions, you can contact us through your dedicated Subject Advisor.