Regulating post-16 VTQs at L2 and L3

Closes 2 Jul 2026

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V Level Assessment design (Terminal assessment)

Terminal assessment

Proposal

To further support the setting and maintenance of standards and ensure that grades are trustworthy and reliable over time so that students' achievement is properly represented, we propose to put in place a requirement for terminal assessment whereby a proportion of the assessment is taken at the end of the 2-year course. By requiring an assessment to be taken at the end of the 2-year course, awarding organisations are better able to ensure that final grades most accurately reflect students’ overall level of attainment.

For V Levels, this terminal assessment must be set by the awarding organisation (in line with the proposal on setting assessments), timetabled so it is taken by all students seeking to complete the qualification at the same time and marked by the awarding organisation. This approach supports the maintenance of standards because it gives awarding organisations the highest level of control over grade boundaries.

The proportion of terminal assessment needs to be substantial enough to have a clear impact on overall results and we propose for V Level subjects in tranche 1 that this proportion should be 40% of the overall marks. As discussed earlier in the section on assessment methods, the terminal assessment does not have to be in the form of a written exam and should reflect the applied nature of V Levels. It should require students to demonstrate their ability across the subject content and in doing so, provide an opportunity to correlate student performance across all assessments.

As subject content is developed for V Levels being taught in future years, we will consider whether a 40% terminal assessment requirement is appropriate for those subjects, based on the amount of content in subjects that can be most validly assessed in this way. If future tranches do not include sufficient content to meet this terminal assessment requirement, we will specify alternative arrangements on a subject-by-subject basis.

Our proposed Condition VL6 and associated requirements and guidance are set out in Annex A.

17. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the proposal to require awarding organisations to design V Level qualifications which include terminal assessment, set and marked by the awarding organisation and taken simultaneously by students in the final series in which they complete their qualification?
18. Do you have any comments on the proposal to require the proportion of terminal assessment for V Level subjects in tranche 1 to be 40%?