BTEC: Calculating your overall grade
This page explains how to calculate the overall grade for BTEC qualifications. Detailed information is also available in the relevant specification.
If you're not sure which BTEC you studied, ask your school or college.
This section explains how to calculate the overall grade for current BTEC qualifications accredited on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). This includes:
- BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Firsts
- BTEC Level 3 Nationals in Children's Play, Learning and Development (teaching from 2014)
- BTEC Level 3 Nationals (teaching from 2016)
You can use the calculator to input unit grades, which will generate a qualification grade based on the information you have provided.
Use our BTEC Firsts and Nationals Grade Calculator
BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Firsts (RQF)
Certification may show a grade of Level 2 Pass, Level 2 Merit, Level 2 Distinction or Level 2 Distinction*. If these are not achieved, a Level 1 grade may be awarded. Learners whose level of achievement is below a Level 1 will receive an unclassified (U) result.
Each individual unit will be awarded a grade of Level 2 Pass, Merit, Distinction or Level 1. Distinction* is not available at unit level. Learners whose level of achievement is below a Level 1 will receive an unclassified (U) for that unit.
D* is an aggregated grade for the qualification, based on the learner’s overall performance. In order to achieve this grade, learners will have to demonstrate a strong performance across the qualification as a whole.
Learners must:
- complete and report an outcome for all units within the permitted combination (please note: Unclassified is a permitted unit outcome)
- have sufficient points across the core units - that is, 24 points
- achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold from the permitted combination. See the Calculation of Qualification Grade table in the relevant specification
Learners may be entitled to achieve a Level 1, where they:
- complete and report an outcome for all units within the permitted combination (please note: Unclassified is a permitted unit outcome)
- have sufficient points across the core units - that is, 12 points
- achieve the minimum number of points for a Level 1. See the Calculation of Qualification Grade table in the relevant specification
Please note: In addition to meeting the relevant eligibility requirements and obtaining the total points listed above, candidates need a minimum number of points from the core units in order to achieve either the Level 2 or Level 1 fallback qualification. Please see Section 10 of the specification for more information.
BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Tech Awards
The final grade awarded for a qualification represents an aggregation of a learner’s performance across the qualification. As the qualification grade is an aggregate of the total performance, there is some element of compensation in that a higher performance in some components may be balanced by a lower outcome in others.
The calculation of qualification grade table shows how BTEC Tech Awards are awarded at seven grades from Level 1 Pass to Level 2 Distinction*. The table shows the minimum thresholds for calculating these grades.
Learners who do not meet the minimum requirements for a qualification grade to be awarded will be recorded as Unclassified (U) and will not be certificated.
In order to be awarded a qualification, a learner must:
- complete and achieve all three components with a grade Level 1 Pass or above
- achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold
Learners who do not pass all components shown in the structure will not achieve a qualification, even if they have enough points at a grade threshold.
BTEC Level 2 Technicals
The final grade awarded for a qualification represents an aggregation of a learner’s performance across the qualification. As the qualification grade is an aggregate of the total performance, there is some element of compensation in that a higher performance in some units may be balanced by a lower outcome in others.
In the event that a learner achieves more than the required number of optional units (where available), the mandatory units along with the optional units with the highest grades will be used to calculate the overall result, subject to the eligibility requirements for that particular qualification title.
To achieve the qualification grade, learners must:
- achieve and report a grade (D, M or P) for all units within a valid combination
- achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold
Where there are optional units in a qualification, it is the responsibility of the centre to ensure that a correct unit combination is adhered to. Learners who do not pass all the required units shown in the structure will not achieve the qualification. For example, learners who have not passed the required external units or who have not taken enough mandatory or optional units will not achieve that qualification even if they have enough points.
BTEC Level 3 Nationals in CPLD (teaching from 2014)
These are Level 3 qualifications, and the certification may show a grade of Pass, Merit, Distinction, Distinction* or Unclassified (or a combination of these grades appropriate to the qualification).
Distinction* is an aggregated grade for the qualification, based on the learner’s overall performance. To achieve this grade (or this grade as part of a grade combination), learners will have to demonstrate a strong performance across the qualification as a whole.
Each individual unit will be awarded a grade of Pass, Merit or Distinction or Unclassified. Distinction* is not available at unit level.
Learners must:
- complete and report an outcome for all units within the permitted combination
- have achieved at least a Pass grade in all the core units (please note: for the Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Subsidiary Award, National Award, National Subsidiary Certificate and National Certificate in Children’s Play, Learning and Development, all the units within these qualifications are mandatory)
- achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold from the permitted combination. See the Calculation of Qualification Grade table in the relevant specification
Find out more in BTEC Nationals in Children's Play, Learning and Development
Please note: In addition to meeting the relevant eligibility requirements and obtaining the total points listed above, candidates need a minimum number of points from the core units to achieve the qualification. Please see Section 10 of the specification for more information.
BTEC Level 3 Nationals (teaching from 2016)
The final grade awarded for a qualification represents an aggregation of a learner’s performance across the qualification. As the qualification grade is an aggregate of the total performance, there is some element of compensation in that a higher performance in some units may be balanced by a lower outcome in others.
In the event that a learner achieves more than the required number of optional units, the mandatory units along with the optional units with the highest grades will be used to calculate the overall result, subject to the eligibility requirements for that particular qualification title.
BTEC Nationals are Level 3 qualifications and are awarded at the grade ranges shown in the table below.
| Qualification | Available grade range |
|---|---|
| Certificate, Extended Certificate, Foundation Diploma | P to D* |
| Diploma | PP to D*D* |
| Extended Diploma | PPP to D*D*D* |
The Calculation of Qualification Grade table, shown within the relevant specification, shows the minimum thresholds for calculating these grades. The table will be kept under review over the lifetime of the qualification.
Learners who do not meet the minimum requirements for a qualification grade to be awarded will be recorded as Unclassified (U) and will not be certificated. They may receive a Notification of Performance for individual units.
In order to be awarded a qualification, a learner must complete all units and achieve a pass or above in all mandatory units, unless otherwise specified. Refer to the structure in Section 2. To achieve any qualification grade, learners must:
- complete and have an outcome (D, M, P or U) for all units within a valid combination
- achieve the required units at pass or above shown in Section 2, and for the Extended Diploma achieve a minimum of 900 GLH at pass or above
- achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold
This section explains how to calculate the overall grade for older BTEC qualifications that started before September 2010 and are accredited on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
Should my BTEC certificate show an overall grade?
Before 2004, all BTECs were pass/fail qualifications. This means that if you started your BTEC before 2004, you may have been awarded merits or distinctions for individual units but the highest overall grade you could receive was a Pass (P).
We began introducing the additional overall grades of Merit (M) and Distinction (D) for specifications written after 2004.
| BTEC suite | Additional overall grades introduced from... |
|---|---|
| BTEC Firsts | September 2006 |
| BTEC Nationals | September 2004 |
| BTEC Higher Nationals | September 2010 (QCF specifications) |
It is not possible to convert unit achievements into Merit (M) or Distinction (D) grades if these grades were not available on the specification you completed.
If you completed a BTEC and have received a certificate that does not indicate an overall grade, you received a Pass (P). Your Notification of Performance (issued with the certificate) will show how you performed in individual units.
My BTEC certificate shows an overall grade. How was it calculated?
To calculate your BTEC overall grade we:
- Convert all of the unit grades you received into a points score.
- Add together the points you scored for all of the core units and select your best scores from any specialist units.
- Compare your total points score to the grade boundaries.
If you have completed two units with similar content we may not be able to use points from both units when calculating your overall grade. You can find more information on 'forbidden combinations' in the specification for your course.
To convert your unit grade into a points scores you'll need to know:
- the grade you received for the unit (i.e. Pass, Merit or Distinction)
- the size of the unit in Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
- the number of points available for differently sized units
- Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
At the beginning of every BTEC specification is a table that tells you the size of each unit in Guided Learning Hours (GLH) and the unit level.
In the example below both of the core units for the Edexcel BTEC Level 3 National Award in Applied Science (Applied Biology) are 60 GLH but some of the specialist units are smaller and only consist of 30 GLH. All of the units are Level 3, with the exception of Application of Numbers for Science Technicians, which is Level 2.
| Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Award in Applied Science (Applied Biology) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Core units | GLH | Level |
| 1 | Fundamentals of Science | 60 | 3 |
| 4 | Scientific Practical Techniques | 60 | 3 |
| Unit | Specialist units | ||
| 2 | Working in the Science Industry | 60 | 3 |
| 5 | Perceptions of Science | 60 | 3 |
| 6 | Application of Numbers for Science Technicians | 30 | 2 |
| 7 | Mathematics for Science Technicians | 30 | 3 |
| 8 | Statistics for Science Technicians | 30 | 3 |
| 10 | Using Science in the Workplace | 60 | 3 |
| 11 | Physiology of Human Body Systems | 60 | 3 |
| 12 | Physiology of Human Regulation and Reproduction | 60 | 3 |
| 13 | Biochemical Techniques | 60 | 3 |
| 15 | Microbiological Techniques | 60 | 3 |
| 16 | Chemistry for Biology Technicians | 60 | 3 |
| 18 | Genetics and Genetic Engineering | 60 | 3 |
| 24 | Principles of Plant and Soil Science | 60 | 3 |
Points
The table below shows how many points each grade is worth for units of different sizes.
| Size of unit (GLH) | Pass grade | Merit grade | Distinction grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 60 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| 90 | 9 | 18 | 27 |
| 120 | 12 | 24 | 36 |
Therefore, if you were given a Merit for Unit 1 (a unit of 60 GLH), you scored 12 points.
| Grade boundaries | Overall grade |
|---|---|
| 36-59 | Pass (P) |
| 60-83 | Merit (M) |
| 84-108 | Distinction (D) |
Once you have calculated your points scores for each unit, you can add the points together and compare your total to the grade boundaries.
Towards the end of every BTEC specification there is a section called 'Calculation of the qualification grade'. This section contains a series of tables that show you the final grade you will receive, depending on the size of the BTEC qualification you took (Certificate, Subsidiary Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma) and the total number of points you scored.
The example below shows that you must score between 60-83 points to achieve an overall Merit grade for a BTEC level 3 National Award in Applied Science (Applied Biology).