To not understand why a Btec is considered equivalent to four gsces?

[Ouluckyduck]

It just seems totally senseless to me?

'less able students' are steered towards BTECs due to their continuous assessment and the chance to improve each piece of work, i.e. they do not have to remember all the knowledge they have learnt to undertake a 2 hour exam.

it is worth remembering though, it is not just 'less able' that the qualification suits, but also those who are very able but are not suited to exams and would prefer to study through vocational rather than academia

My ds is doing one and it is a lot of work and very much has a point iygwim. He is doing photography and film and actually makes films can edit a tv ad/pop video and they actually 'work' as opposed to study although they do that too. The level is high I have been very surprised. Eg before xmas he wrote and directed a short film and spent hours in an old car park filming it etc The finished result was amazing.

Sorry misread ds is doing a level 3 diploma equiv to 3.5 A levels and suitable for uni application.

My Ds chose to do a BTECH in music because preferred the practical element of it compared to GCSE music

He got distinctions but it wasn't an easy option tbh

I'm a bit clueless about this. DSS is doing Level 3 children and young people's workforce diploma, does that mean it's equivalent to 3.5 A levels? (excuse my ignorance on these things). Whatever it is, she's spending a lot of time and effort on it.

*DSD

Yes level 3 is equal to 3.5 A levels. My ds course has given him a real taste of what it would be like to actually work in this field. He was doing A levels last year and although he seemed to be a lot less 'busy' he hated it and gave up after 8 months!

A level 3 BTECH National Diploma is equal to 3 A levels a BTECH First Diploma is equal to 4 GCSEs. There is a lot of assignments and course work to do as well as practical stuff.

Jagger, is your DSD doing an Extended Diploma? There are different types, worth different amounts of A Levels.

Londonmackem, some universities are now refusing to accept an equivalent for GCSE Maths or English, parents really need to be aware of this.

natioanl extended dipoma = 3 A levels.

Btec first certificate - 1-2 GCSEs

Btec first diploma _ now 2 or 3 ?

Btec first is not equal to 4 GCSEs, it never has been. A school could at one stage count it on the league table, but no longer. At one stage it could have counted towards saying you had 5 GCSEs ( in other words had "passed" secondary education) - Even then, it could not be used to progress. For example, if you had a Btec first diploma in ICT, and English and Maths GCSE at C or above, you could then say you had 5 or more GCSEs, to get onto a course that required 5 or more GCSEs, BUT not actually ICT A level, although you could do English A level.

Anyway, that ws then, it is no longer considered to be worth 4 GCSEs even on paper.

In the end, like anything else, it is only worth what it is valued at - if I say my diamond ring is worth £1000, but noone will pay me more than £500, it is only worth £500, isn't it. If 6th forms refuse to accept Btecs, they are of no value.

Noddyholder, and Mumee, I think the National diploma is worth TWO A levels - downgraded some time ago

My son could have gone on to do A levels ,his btech did count towards his gcse passes

It depends on the topic, you can use it to bulk up the number, but not toward aspecific subject, for example using ICT btec to get onto an ICT A level course. Not in general. Art is a bit different. It's n the end down to individual staff who they enroll, but generally not

Well the one ds is doing is definitely 3+ as they had a visit from 2 unis and both were accepting the qualification

BTEC Level 3 National qualifi cations

Certifi cate Subsidiary Diploma Diploma Extended Diploma
Previous name this is new Award Certifi cate Diploma
Credits (minimum) 30 60 120 180
Guided learning
hours (GLH) 180 360 720 1080
Broad equivalence 1 AS Level 1 A Level 2 A Levels 3 A Levels

I don't think copying and pasting this table is going to work! But you can look it up on the exam, board website yourself- National diploma, = 2 A levels. Some universities accept it as 2 A levels.

This is edexcel. National Extended can be counted as 3 A levels, in some universities.

There is a full equivalents table on page 6 of this Edexcel Parent's Guide to Btecs.

Thanks Kladdkaka. Is it up to dat? icouldn't post in a link.

I would say the Btec Nationals are easier to get onto, and easier to pass, but harder to do well in than A levels.

I would say the btec firsts are so variable as to have little value as a qualification, but a lot of value in the academic and personal development they offer. But there is no real way at the moment of knowing if a student with a distinction has actually earned that distinction. That will be changing asthe new syllabus will have externally assessed components

I did the Btec national diploma in science (many years ago) because I got unreasonably stressed doing my GCSEs. I undestood it was equivalent to 3 A levels.
I did biology, chemistry and physics at just under the whole A level syllabus, an AS Maths (in fact got a separate certificate for this) and lab based skills. The AS Maths is amazing as I failed my GCSE ( got a D and had to retake it) due to exam stress. It was an amazing course.
There is an awful lot of academic snobbery but I was accepted into my first choice of university with my combinations of distinctions and merits, as did the others on the course - between us we went on to read Chemistry, Biology, Nursing ....( Actually not sure what everyone did..! ) but our some of our A level friends ended up through clearing because they didn't do as well as they thought they would.

It's a feckin joke, that's the answer.

Sorry Asiatic you are right I was going in what DD2 dis a few years ago. DD3 is doing the national extended Diploma in I . She has looked up if universities except it and all the ones she looked at do. Universities started excepting BTECHs a few years ago.

I took part in the BTEC at GCSE level pilot scheme in 1995. I wanted to do Business Studies at 14, because it sounded an awful lot more interesting than French and German (one of the last years you could opt out of language studies).

My feelings about the vocational qualification is mixed. On one hand it started me on a trajectory to where I am now and taught me to be enquiring and proactive. On the other I feel rather cheated. I was a bright student and was encouraged to take part in the pilot as a positive advertisement for the scheme (at 14 I had not recognised this) this has subsequently been confirmed by my former headmaster, a family friend.

As a result I fear my qualifications have been subject of much intellectual snobbery. Though I have to say, I feel quite snobbish about it myself. The qualification certainly hindered my ability to get excellent grades in exams, despite being able to memorise the relevant information, as I lacked technique, something I did not learn until a friend showed me in my last set of postgrad exams.

Things could have been very different for me, not necessarily good or bad, just different.

Oh, and in my day, a BTEC was worth 2 GCSEs.

I teach btec and gcse sciences, the current btec is worth 2 gcse passes at c-a deepening on the btec level achieved.
Btec is used to students who would NOT achieve a grade C at gcse, in some cases, they have sat the core science gcse in yr 10 and struggled so moved on to btec.

The kids who are very weak academically respond much better to this kind of continuous assessment, and on the whole tend to go in to vocational training after school where the ability to study in a btec-like manner is an advantage to them.

In terms of the science btec, it was never designed for academic kids, however the a level equivalent is accepted at uni for certain science courses as being academically rigorous enough to prepare students.

Being able to offer our weaker kids btec means that they are engaged, they can see that they are going to achieve something, they are going to get something out of this course, and as a result,they put in a lot of effort to achieve well, most not just settling for a pass. If they were studying gcse, the vast majority of these kids would really have struggled - not to mention the behaviour issues hat would result - how would you feel if someone told you that your target grade was an E, highly unlikely you would bother to do any work I guess, at least with btec, they get something valuable.

I think what Gove forgets is that not all kids are academic, and not all careers require academic qualifications, vocational routes are just as valuable!

Thanks IloveSanta, I thought my quals had been made subject to inflation. Also went on to say, I later learnt Arabic and French, but had to do so under my own steam and money.