The number of pupils passing a controversial fast-track IT qualification has soared by nearly 350 per cent in just 12 months, prompting concerns that it is pushing “more rigorous” subjects out of the curriculum.
Ofqual data released last week revealed 117,200 level 2 European computer driving licence (ECDL) IT application skills certificates were issued from June 2015 to June 2016, up from 26,250 in the same period for the previous year.
It confirms a rapid rise in the number of schools teaching the qualification, which is the equivalent of a GCSE, and comes after claims that some schools entered pupils en-masse to boost league table scores.
Peter Atherton (pictured), a college data manager and blogger, said the qualification’s rise came at the expense of other GCSEs.
ECDL falls into bucket 3 of the new Attainment and Progress 8 accountability measures, meaning it has the same weight as GCSEs in subjects such as art and drama.
“The ‘loser’ qualifications come in the form of GCSEs that also are available for the open bucket, they cannot compete with the power of ECDL,” Atherton said.
“The dilemmas schools face are thus: spend two years completing an approved GCSE in a non-Ebacc subject or spend three days blitzing ECDL and achieving higher tariff results to boot.”
The new Ofqual data shows ECDL was the vocational qualification last year with the most certificates and largest increase in pupil numbers. The document states this could be down to assurances the “qualification has recently been listed in performance tables for 2018”.
Research by Education DataLab has previously revealed pupils taking the qualification score on average the equivalent of an A grade, despite achieving below a C on average across their other GCSEs.
In some cases, schools are double-entering pupils for the ECDL and GCSE ICT – both of which count towards their results.
Schools Week has seen evidence that one school entered 196 of its 228 cohort into both GCSE ICT and the ECDL last year. Each of the pupils that took the ECDL passed, while just 40 per cent passed in ICT.
The school only entered 110 pupils for the ECDL in 2015, and before that did not teach the qualification.
Ofqual data shows ECDL was the vocational qualification last year with the most certificates and largest increase in pupil numbers
A spokesperson for the school, which Schools Week is not naming, said the academy had an “innovative and inclusive” curriculum. The ECDL was part of a “wide suite of qualifications, offered alongside statistics, computing, business studies and ICT”.
But the ECDL’s growing popularity could soon take a hit. Ofqual wrote to exam boards earlier this year to demand they justify the time – “guided learning hours” – needed to complete their qualifications. If the time was too short, the qualification would be cut from performance league tables.
Education watchdog Ofsted also told inspectors in June to look out for schools entering pupils into qualifications to boost league-table standings, rather than in the pupils’ best interest. A given example was “large numbers” of pupils entered for qualifications with overlapping subject content.
A Department for Education spokesperson said it would be “extremely disappointed to hear of any organisation encouraging schools to enter young people for courses just to ‘game’ the system.
“We have reformed the accountability system so only high-quality courses are counted. Our new Progress 8 measure must include core academic subjects such as English, maths, science and a foreign language.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said it would be “extremely disappointed to hear of any organisation encouraging schools to enter young people for courses just to ‘game’ the system.
But the system IS a game! It’s a competition of school against school. The DfE designed it that way! If your school falls below average the forces of hell are unleashed on you.
Who could argue that getting an extra A grade GCSE for 3 days work was NOT in a pupil’s best interest?
If your school is not entering students for this qualification, think about how much intervention (time, effort, money) you would need to be doing to make up for your drop in the league table. It’s a no-brainer.
It’s easy to be sanctimonious and pure if your job is not on the line. If a drop in the league table affects your student intake numbers, explain to your colleagues who become redundant that you took a higher moral position than other schools and you hope this will make them feel better when they are on the dole.
Best comment I have seen on this subject! Sanctimony is a polite way of putting it!
the reason for that spike was due to the fats track which has now been retired and wasn’t the full qualification that they made out it was when it didn’t have a fundamental stages that the full version did
I know I took the course for a 2 year course
I did my one in 8 months
the full 7 certificate version