External units vs internal units in BTEC

"Is this unit coursework or exam?" is the first question to ask about any BTEC unit, because the answer changes everything: who sets it, who marks it, who verifies it, and what your department's workflow looks like. Here's the split.

Internal units: your centre assesses

• Who writes the brief: your centre, or Pearson via a Pearson Set Assignment for supported units — PSA guide.
• Who marks: your assessors, against the criteria grid, per the band rules.
• Who checks: your internal verifiers, then Pearson's Standards Verifier by sampling — the three-gate map.
• Your workflow: everything in this blog's IV guides — records, logs, resubmission rules, all of it yours.

External units: Pearson assesses

• Forms: external exams (set and marked by Pearson) and externally-marked tasks for some routes.
• Who decides: Pearson's processes — boundaries in the exam sense can exist here, unlike internal assessment (the boundaries myth).
• Your workflow: scheduling, access arrangements, preparation — not criterion verdicts. The records machine doesn't apply.

How to tell which is which

The specification says, per unit, in the unit's assessment section — the same place the criteria grid lives. Rules of thumb that usually hold:

• Units with a criteria grid assessed by your centre: internal.
• Units with exam-style papers or Pearson-marked tasks: external.
• Many programmes mix both — often the core-skills units sit externally.

Why the mix exists (and what it means for teachers)

The blend gives the qualification both credibility levers: externally checked national standards (the exam side) and verified vocational application (the internal side). For your workload it means two calendars: the internal assessment rounds you control, and Pearson's external windows you don't. Departments get into trouble conflating them — internal deadlines drift because "exams are coming", and the internal round's IV slot vanishes. Keep the two tracks separate on the same calendar.

FAQ

Do external unit results affect internal unit grades?

No — each unit's grade is decided by its own assessment. Both feed the qualification points total.

Can learners resubmit external units?

External units follow Pearson's retake/entry rules, not the internal resubmission route — different machinery entirely.