Abstract
Many universities admit students to degree courses in mechanical engineering from a wide variety of backgrounds. The majority enter with a study of A level mathematics. An increasing proportion enter having previously studied for BTEC qualifications. The conventional rule of thumb which is used is that BTEC level 3 is equivalent to A level. In this paper this rule of thumb is examined by comparing the performance of A level and BTEC students in a diagnostic test, taken at the start of their course, and the results of the end-of-year examination. The results of students entering the mechanical engineering stream of degree courses at Coventry University in 1991 and 1992 are used to provide the data for this study. The diagnostic test results also show the key areas of weakness in the level of mathematical competence of many students on entry to universities.
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