Guidance

PTQ Outcomes: Assessment Outcomes

Updated 1 May 2026

Applies to England

Introduction

In order to fulfil our regulatory and accreditation functions as set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, we require awarding organisations to provide the following data for regulated qualifications.

This data will be used to undertake our regulatory activities, publish reports, and to fulfil our responsibility as a government department.

What data will be collected?

Data should relate to all assessments results issued for the time period and qualifications in scope of the collection.

Qualifications in scope

The following qualification types are in scope of this collection:

• Vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) that are included in the Department for Education’s performance tables (PTQs) for the academic year being submitted. These are:
  • Technical Awards
  • Technical Certificates
  • Tech Levels
  • Applied Generals

Countries in scope

Data should be included for all students in centres in:

• England

Time period in scope

Data for the latest, full academic year (1 September to 31 August).

When data will be collected

Data will be collected according to the reporting schedule which is updated regularly. Please submit templates in order specified in the reporting schedule and on the collection page.

How to submit your data

Your data must be submitted to us in CSV format. Please refer to the Connecting to Ofqual’s data portal and uploading data document for more information. If you need to ask us about a data submission please contact the Data Services team.

Please do not send your data files via email or via Contact the Regulator in the Portal.

Uploaded data

Once files have been successfully uploaded, the data will be validated against a set of validation rules.

If validation is successful, the data is automatically transferred into Ofqual’s internal systems and you will receive email confirmation. If the file is unsuccessful at any stage of validation you will receive an email with details of the validation failure. Please correct your file and resubmit it.

The specific validation rules which are in place for this template are detailed in the ‘validation rules’ and ‘file format’ sections below.

Amendments to data

Errors or omissions in the data

Once the data has been successfully uploaded, it will be checked by Ofqual staff. If an error or omission is spotted, the data may be queried, and you may be requested to resubmit it. We will need to reject your existing submission ahead of a resubmission.

If you find an error or omission after you’ve had a successful upload, please notify data services by email. We need to reject the existing submission before you can upload a new file.

If you wish to see your latest submission of a data return, for example to check the submission if it has been queried, please know it is available to download in the data portal.

Scheduled revisions of data

Each submission of this data is intended to show a snapshot in time. Therefore, there will be no resubmissions required to reflect any further updates to the data already submitted, unless an error or omission is spotted.

General completion guidelines

1. Numeric values must not have any formatting.
2. All fields are mandatory unless otherwise specified.
3. This template is designed to capture data on all assessment results issued during the academic year.
4. Submit one row of data per student per assessment outcome.
5. Please include all assessment outcomes issued. If a student has more than one legitimate outcome issued for the same assessment, for example due to a resit, we would expect a row to be included for each outcome. If a student’s grade for an assessment is changed, for example following an appeal or review of marking, we would only expect one row of data to be submitted with the most recent outcome reported as this is only considered to be one legitimate outcome issued.
6. Submit UniqueCandidateIdentifier and UniqueLearnerNumber where available. Where UniqueCandidateIdentifier and UniqueLearnerNumber are not available, submit a CandidateIdentifierOther, which is any other unique student number allocated by the awarding organisation.
7. ‘AssessmentRawMark’ refers to the summed number of marks awarded to a student without any weighting, scaling or other conversion applied.
8. ‘AssessmentScaledScore’ refers to any numerical score applied to the assessment that would not be considered a raw mark (see definition above) or a grade. This can include, for example, percentage scores, Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks or Grade Points or Grade Credits.
9. ‘AssessmentCode’ is a unique identifier for the assessment, allocated by the awarding organisation. Each individual assessment must have a unique code – codes should not be shared across different assessments and, aside from when specifications change, should be consistent across submissions, data collections and over time.
10. Assessment refers to the actual assessment tasks taken by students, such as tests or portfolios. Assessments are the lowest level of granularity within a qualification where marking and/or grading occurs.
11. Assessments are not equal to teaching units, but a unit might only contain one assessment. In the ‘AssessmentCode’ field, when one teaching unit is assessed by one assessment, please provide the URN (Unit Reference Number). Otherwise please provide a unique identifier for each individual assessment as defined above.
12. The ‘MaxMarkAndBoundaryID’ field should be a unique code for a particular set of assessment grade boundaries and maximum mark information, acting as a linking field between the outcomes and maximum marks/grade boundaries templates. For example, for sessional or series-based assessments it could be the name of the series, or for on-demand assessments a unique code specific to that version of the assessment. ‘-2’ would be accepted for assessments where the boundaries and maximum marks don’t change throughout the academic year. Where grade boundaries and/or maximum marks change for an assessment code, please use a common value for this field in both the assessment outcomes and assessment grade boundaries templates.
13. Provide the delivery mode sat by the student for the specific assessment reported. Where multiple delivery modes are employed as part of the assessment process and aggregated to determine a single assessment result, use the delivery mode ‘Product based’.

File format

The file must be CSV format and the first row must be headers as displayed in the ‘Name’ column of the table below. The subsequent rows must have the values of the data to be reported which must match the format and validation rules below.

Name	Description	Position	Description of Regular Expression	Validation Regular Expression
ReportingDate	Date the file was due to be submitted to Ofqual regardless of when it was actually uploaded (this date will be made available by Ofqual).	1	The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day-of-month (2 digits) Format accepted yyyy-mm-dd	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$
AcademicYear	The academic year which this data submission relates to (defined as 1 September to 31 August). For example, “2021-2022”.	2	The academic year in the following format: start year (4 digits), a dash, end year (4 digits) Format accepted yyyy-yyyy	^(20)\d\d[-](20)\d\d$
AwardingOrganisation	Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations	3	Valid awarding organisation acronym. 1 to 150 characters accepted	^.{1,150}$
AssessmentCode	Unique identifier for the assessment, generated by the AO. See general completion guidelines for detail	4	1 to 50 characters accepted	^.{1,50}$
MaxMarkAndBoundaryID	Identifier used to link information between the outcomes and grade boundaries templates. See general completion guidelines for more detail. -2 accepted where boundaries and maximum marks information do not change throughout the academic year	5	1 to 50 characters accepted	^.{1,50}$
UniqueLearnerNumber	Unique Learner Number (ULN) provided by the Learning Records Service. -2 accepted if not available	6	Valid ULN. 10 digits accepted -2 accepted if not available	^(?:-2|\d{10})$
UniqueCandidateIdentifier	Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI). -2 accepted if not available	7	Valid UCI. Alpha numeric 13 characters accepted -2 accepted if not available	^(?:-2|.{13})$
CandidateIdentifierOther	Any other unique student number allocated by individual awarding organisation. Must be provided where UCI and ULN are not available. If more than one identifier is available please provide as many as possible. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided	8	1 to 20 characters accepted -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided	^.{1,20}$
AssessmentDate	Date assessment was taken by the student or submission deadline/claim dates for non-exam assessment. In the case of assessments which take place over multiple days, please provide the date it was submitted for marking/grading. For windowed assessments, please provide the date based on the last date of the window. If no date is available please provide the date the result was entered.	9	The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day-of-month (2 digits) Format accepted yyyy-mm-dd	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$
AssessmentRawMark	Final raw mark for the assessment See general completion guidelines for more detail. -2 accepted where not applicable or not known (for example, for internal assessments and/or where assessments are graded, not marked)	10	Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted where not applicable or not known (for example, for internal assessments and/or where assessments are graded, not marked)	^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$
AssessmentScaledScore	Final scaled mark/score for the assessment, where used. See general completion guidelines for more detail. -2 accepted where not applicable	11	Decimal value with up to 3 decimal places, between 0-9999. -2 accepted where not applicable	^(?:-2|\d{0,4}\.?\d{0,3})$
AssessmentGrade	Grade awarded for the assessment. Submit fails and near pass grades if relevant. -2 accepted for not applicable	12	See Appendix A for accepted grades	See Appendix A
DeliveryMode	Mode of the assessment method used by the student. The list of delivery modes is given in Appendix B below. Please choose the most appropriate one.	13	See Appendix B for accepted modes	^(Paper based|Computer based|Face to face|Remote|Product based|Candidate absent|Not specified)$

Validation rules

A data submission is only considered complete once it has successfully passed the validation rules.

If the file is unsuccessful at any stage of validation you will receive an email with details of the validation failure. Please correct your file and resubmit it. A file may be successful but with warnings. Warnings will not cause failure in the validation process but will highlight entries which may need to be checked. You will receive an email with details of the warning in an attached “Data Validation Warnings Report”. If you receive this, please review the report and contact Ofqual Data Services should the data require any amendment.

The validation rules for this template check that each field is correctly formatted. The correct formatting of the fields are detailed in the ‘file format’ section. Failure to format the fields in line with the validation regular expression will result in unsuccessful validation. Additional validation rules are also in place for this template and may include cross-referencing with other templates. These validation rules along with whether they result in failure or a warning are detailed in the following table.

Validation rule	Result if not met
‘ReportingDate’ values match date the file was due to be submitted to Ofqual regardless of when it was actually uploaded (this date will be made available by Ofqual)	Fail and rejected
‘AcademicYear’ value is in scope of the return	Fail and rejected
‘AwardingOrganisation’ is valid acronym	Fail and rejected
The ‘MaxMarkAndBoundaryID’ in this template is cross validated against ‘MaxMarkAndBoundaryID’ in assessment maximum marks and grade boundaries template. The value must be present in the assessment maximum marks and grade boundaries return or be -2	Pass with warning
Checks that a value (other than -2) is submitted for ‘CandidateIdentifierOther’ field if all other candidate identifier fields are -2	Fail and rejected

Appendix A: Accepted Grade Values

The following are grades accepted for this collection. Let us know via the Portal as soon as possible if any grades appear to be missing from this list. You will not be able to submit any grades which are not on this list without informing us first.

Accepted values in the ‘AssessmentGrade’ field
FAIL
-2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
*, A*, A, B, C, D*, D, E, F, G, J, K, M, N, P, Q, R, U, X
AC1, C1, E1, E2, E3
D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, M1, M2, M3, P1, P2, P3
**, *1, *2, *D, D*D*, D*D, DD, DM, HM, LM, HP, LP, MD, MM, MP, PM, PP
***, D*D*D* , **D, D*D*D, D**, DD*D*, *DD, D*DD, DD*, DDD*, DD*D, DDD, DDM, DMM, MDD, MMD, MMM, MMP, MPP, PMM, PPM, PPP
24B, 25B, 26B, 27B, 28B, 29B, 30B, 31B, 32B, 33B, 34B, 35B, 36B, 37B, 38B, 39B, 40B, 41B, 42B, 43B, 44B, 45B
24D, 25D, 26D, 27D, 28D, 29D, 30D, 31D, 32D, 33D, 34D, 35D, 36D, 37D, 38D, 39D, 40D, 41D, 42D, 43D, 44D, 45D
24F, 25F, 26F, 27F, 28F, 29F, 30F, 31F, 32F, 33F, 34F, 35F, 36F, 37F, 38F, 39F, 40F, 41F, 42F, 43F, 44F, 45F

Convert any of the following grades to the allowed values.

Grade	Allowed Value
Distinction	D
Distinction*	D*
L1D L1 Distinction	*1
L2D Distinction L2 L2 Distinction*	*2
Distinction 1 Distinction L1 L1 Distinction L1D	D1
Distinction 2 Distinction L2 L2 Distinction L2D	D2
Distinction 3	D3
High Merit	HM
Merit	M
Low Merit	LM
Merit 1 Merit L1 L1 Merit L1M	M1
Merit 2 Merit L2 L2 Merit L2M	M2
Merit 3	M3
L1 Adv. Credit	AC1
L1 Credit	C1
High Pass	HP
Pass	P
Low Pass	LP
Pass 1 Pass L1 L1 Pass L1P	P1
Pass 2 Pass L2 L2 Pass L2P	P2
Pass 3	P3
Entry 1	E1
Entry 2	E2
Entry 3	E3
Unclassified	U
Queried/pending	Q
Disqualified/Absent without good reason	X

Appendix B: List of delivery modes

Please use the following list of assessment delivery modes for entering values for the field ‘DeliveryMode’. Where terms used by an awarding organisation differ from those given below, please select the closest match possible.

Delivery Mode	Description and Examples
Paper based	A delivery mode where an assessment is delivered on a paper to access and/or gather evidence of skills, knowledge and behaviours of the student. For example, tests, assignments, evidence logbook, etc.
Computer based	A delivery mode where computers are used for assessing skills, knowledge and behaviours of the student. Includes any “on screen” assessment. For example, tests, practical exercises, task-based challenge, etc. Note: this delivery mode does not include remote video-based communication or performance assessments.
Face to face	A delivery mode used for assessing students’ learning with the student and examiner sharing the same physical space. For example, oral assessments such as interviews, professional discussions as well as practical observation, task-based challenge, etc.
Remote	A delivery mode used for assessing students’ learning with the student and examiner not sharing the same physical space, but instead using a video recording, web cam or via online video communication, for example, Skype or FaceTime. For example, oral assessments such as interviews, professional discussions as well as practical observation, task-based challenge, etc.
Product based	A delivery mode where the student is required to create a product/working model for assessment, and/or where multiple delivery modes are employed as part of the assessment process and aggregated to determine a single assessment result. Note: this delivery mode may primarily be used for projects
Not specified	Where mode of delivery is unknown due to assessment being an internal centre assessment
Candidate absent	Where student was absent from the assessment

Recent changes to this guidance

Date of change	Description of change
01/05/2026	Updated the document template and clarified aspects of the text. Time period in scope changed so data is collected only once per academic year.
18/09/2024	‘DeliveryMode’ field was added

Contacts

For all queries or feedback relating to the data collection process, amendments to data previously provided, or for general guidance, please contact:

Data services

Ofqual
2nd floor, 1 Friargate
Station Square
Coventry
CV1 2GN

Email data.services@ofqual.gov.uk