But ultimately they do tend to be done by the less academic, so something about them must be easier than A levels, mustn't it?
I did both, A Levels were far easier for me. I now teach BTEC, and occasionally A Level. Less academic doesn't mean thick or less able, it means (in the context of GCSE and A Level) less good at passing exams.
Also, how do we/they know what grade they should be aiming at?
Ideally they should aim at D for everything. I try to make assignments as varied as possible so that there is written work but also creative stuff so that everyone has a fair chance.
Some units lend themselves more to practical things so for health and safety I prefer students to identify hazards in a real or simulated situation rather than write an essay.
thunderbird69
You can go on Edexcel/Pearson's website for the unit briefs, these are what we, as teachers, use to write their assignment.
So in Health and Social Care there is a unit on 'Safeguarding Adults' - if you got to the website and look for unit 11 there will be criteria for P,M and D and full descriptors.
P1 is "describe forms of abuse..."
P2 is "Describe indicators that abuse may be happening..."
M1 is "Assess the likely immediate effects of two different forms of abuse ..."
D1 "evaluate the potential long term effects..."
Now I can write a single assignment that covers all those criteria, or several to cover fewer.
How I write the assignment is up to me, and it is easier if I'm writing for second years who I have known for a while.
So if there are some confident class clowns I might get them to make a film simulating abuse in a care home, or hospital. All students have mobile phones so there is less of a problem with hiring tech these days. That would cover P1. If there is someone who really does not want to be filmed then they can write the script or direct.
Once they have filmed the 'abuse' they can then talk about it in an essay or a report incorporating P2, M1 and D1.
For a quieter group then I might get them to design leaflets to be used on a training course to cover P1 and P2 and then a different assignment for P3 and M1 D1.
If I was teaching this unit today we might have a look at the refugees in Calais, Hungary and Greece in the news and discuss whether they are suffering abuse and what you could do setting up a community group to welcome refugees and offer support.
When I'm marking I'm looking for the content to cover the grading criteria. There have been times when I have marked work the student has completed, in their eyes, to Merit which doesn't cover all M criteria but does cover D1 and D2 - in this case the student would need to complete the M criteria but would pass with D (Students are normally allowed to resubmit once).