A PASS in an Advanced level GNVQ is broadly equivalent in quality to a grade E at A-level, a report from the Office of Standards in Education has found.
The HMI report, Standards of Achievement in GNVQs in Sixth Forms, focused on the quality of students' work. It found that improvements had taken place, but that most students' portfolios were merely "satisfactory".
Some courses in health and social care "lacked rigour" and "take-up has been very weak" in manufacturing courses. Standards of achievement were "least satisfactory" in leisure and tourism. Awarding bodies, notably the Teacher Training Agency and the National Council for Vocational Qualifications, need to address a number of issues it said. The NCVQ "needs to produce and disseminate more exemplar materials to illustrate the standards required in each GNVQ".