As explained in our recent bulletins, where assessment was due but did not take place between 1 August 2020 - 31 August 2021, you will provide a unit-level Teacher Assessed Grade (U-TAG) judgement for your learners to be able to progress their certification claims this year. Externally assessed units eligible for a U-TAG will be submitted on a spreadsheet.
You can also refer to our guidance on U-TAGs and our 2-page Teacher Guidance for U-TAGs, which includes an infographic, as well as some of our frequently asked questions.
Key information for internal assessment U-TAGs and re-submissions.
NEW: The functionality to input Z-Flags and U-TAGs for Internal assessments is now available. Please see our previously issued guidance for support on how to submit these.
Guiding principles:
- Only learner evidence from 1 August 2020 to 31 August 2021 can be used to inform U-TAGs.
- If a learner wishes to improve an awarded U-TAG, they may resubmit the unit with a new assignment in 21/22, which should be assessed as normal. The resubmission grade would not be classified as a U-TAG, and therefore should be submitted without a ‘Z’ flag.
- If no resubmission opportunity was available (due to COVID) after a planned assessment was completed in 20/21, learners can complete resubmissions against the same assignment brief(s) this academic year*.
*All other rules of resubmission will still apply (meeting the eligibility requirements, working independently, and having 15 days to complete the work).
Key information for external assessment U-TAGs and re-sits
Please check your EOL mailbox, as we have now sent spreadsheets to the named Point of Contact for externally assessed units (where the entry was made but the assessment did not take place). Please check with colleagues if you have not received this or contact our customer services team if you need this re-sent.
You will need to populate the U-TAG within the sheet and ensure you return it to resultsresolution@pearson.com by 10 November 2021 with the subject heading “BTEC - External Assessment U-TAG".
Please note, some spreadsheets have been re-sent so please check your EOL mailbox and use the most recent spreadsheet. We issued you with some additional information about the spreadsheets in our communication sent on Friday 15 October.
Please note, some spreadsheets have been re-sent so please check your EOL mailbox and use the most recent spreadsheet. We issued you with some additional information about the spreadsheets in our communication sent on Friday 15 October.
Guiding principles:
- Only learner evidence from 1 August 2020 to 31 August 2021 can be used to inform U-TAGs.
- If a learner wishes to improve a U-TAG, the only option is to take a Pearson-set and marked (live) external assessment in 2021/22.
- The U-TAG does not count as one of the learner’s attempts and the highest grade/points will be applied to the certification claim.
Releasing U-TAGs to learners
Once you have submitted your U-TAGs on the system, you are permitted to give these U-TAG judgements to your learners. However, please ensure that you make it clear that the grades are subject to Pearson Quality Assurance and will not be finalised until 13 January 2022.
This is different to the process used in summer 2021 (where you were not permitted to release these before results day), as we believe it would be beneficial for your learners to understand their progress earlier in the academic year, to inform any resit choices. We have also looked to align with other VTQ Awarding Organisations to support consistency.
Can learners resit an assessment to improve a Q-TAG judgement from summer 2021?
Centres should ‘decline’ the Q-TAG grade and will be required to return the certificate. The learner’s Q-TAG will need to be converted to U-TAGs using the process outlined in our guidance. The learner will then be able to resit the relevant units, and a ‘full award claim’ can be added when ready for certification. Qualification grades in 2021/22 will be aggregated under the normal rules, outlined in the specification.
Learners cannot add evidence to ‘increase’ a U-TAG judgement, any resits taken in 2021/22 must be conducted under the normal assessment rules.