Students on level 3 and 4 vocational qualifications have not been disadvantaged in the results they received today, Ofqual has said.
Trends even suggested that some cohorts might have been afforded “a slight advantage” over previous cohorts, the regulator added in a new report.
The report, published today, says that while grade distributions in these qualifications, which include applied general qualifications including BTECs, appeared stable overall, there were some small increases in the proportions of top grades observed for some groups of qualifications.
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“This appears to suggest that cohorts overall have not been disadvantaged this year compared to previous years, and some trends may appear to suggest that some cohorts may have actually been afforded a slight advantage this year over previous cohorts,” said Ofqual.
Vocational and technical results ‘fair’
The report cautions, however, that some of those patterns might be down to institutions not entering students for whom there was insufficient evidence to support a calculated grade or a pass.
The publication looks at the grades awarded for a number of level 3 and level 4 vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), considering the extent to which outcomes are similar to previous years and whether certain groups of learners have been unfairly disadvantaged as a result of the changes made following the coronavirus pandemic.
It focuses on what it calls “higher-stakes qualifications”, including applied general qualifications. Data was collected from awarding organisations on all learners in England awarded a grade this spring/summer for exams and other assessment taken between 20 March and 31 July.
Ofqual concludes that there has been an increase in the total number of grades awarded for applied general qualifications in 2020 compared with 2019, continuing the trend from 2018, while there has been a slight decrease in numbers of grades issued for level 4 qualifications.
“It is difficult to know with certainty whether or not any of these observations are attributable to the coronavirus pandemic or some other explanation, but this may suggest some change in entry behaviour this year.”
Overall, the report says, grade distributions appears “generally similar to grade distributions observed for previous years”. “In other words, neither the shape nor the skew appeared to have changed substantially from previous years. This suggests overall that the awarding process in 2020 has not been majorly affected by the pandemic situation” it adds.
“In most cases”, the report says, attainment gaps have not increased over time between different demographic groups. “There are some specific cases where attainment gaps have changed, although these apparent differences seem small in real terms and it is difficult to know what the exact cause of these may be without further exploration (for example, these findings could reflect a genuine change in ability of cohorts over time). Overall, the findings suggest that there has not been a sudden slip of standards nor a sudden introduction of bias in 2020 due to the measures adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
“A small degree of change is expected in any given year, and the majority of changes reported here are in line with those expectations.”
Catherine Sezen, senior policy manager at the Association of Colleges, said: “First and foremost, congratulations to the thousands of students receiving confirmation of their hard work in achieving vocational and technical qualifications in subjects such as health and social care, engineering, IT and business.
“Ofqual’s detailed analysis of these results appears to present a stable picture for grades awarded for Level 3 and 4 qualifications in summer 2020 in comparison with previous years, which will be reassuring to both students and staff in colleges up and down the country.”
Tom Bewick, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, said: “Amongst the furore of A-level results, it is easy to lose sight of the many thousands of students who have picked up their vocational technical qualifications today.
“Despite the pandemic, Ofqual research shows that the integrity, value and robustness of VTQ awards has been upheld. Grades are very similar to previous years, with the cohort overall being perhaps slightly advantaged this year. Most importantly, vocational qualifications like BTECs show time and time again that they are a trusted vocational brand for learners, enabling direct entry to university, as well as catapulting many young people into rewarding and well-paid careers.”
