Research into the impact of the
Certificate of Personal Effectiveness
(CoPE) on GCSE outcomes
Edge Foundation Research Conference
16th November 2012
Neil Harrison, David James and Kathryn Last
Background to CoPE (1)




Skills-led qualification offered by ASDAN
Based around modules that promote learning
through undertaking ‘challenges’, Plan-Do-Review
process and portfolio-building (c.f. Watkins 2010)
Modules include Work-Based Learning and
Enterprise and Vocational Preparation - wider
key skills run through all modules
Learner-centred, drawing on personal interests,
innovative curriculum and mainstream school work
Background to CoPE (2)


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Available at Levels 1, 2 and 3
This study focused on Level 2 – usually taken at
KS4 and currently equivalent to B at GCSE
Offered across around 1,000 schools, with around
10,000 young people completing each year
A wide range of young people take CoPE, though
pupils with lower measured ability, FSM and
special educational needs are over-represented
Use of CoPE in schools

We identified two main uses of CoPE:
 ‘Thin’
– where used mainly as supplement for small
minority of young people with disrupted education
between KS3 and KS4 (e.g. illness, absenteeism,
disengagement, behavioural issues)
 ‘Wide’ – where used as a more mainstream tool
either to enhance the curriculum, increase motivation
or broaden opportunities for achievement

This distinction is based on data, with the
‘boundary’ set at 25% of cohort
Research method

Three strand approach:
1.
2.
3.
Analysis of National Pupil Database (NPD) –
statistical analysis of around 500,000 entries for
cohort completing KS4 in 2010
Matched pairs – quasi-experimental study using
pairs of learners either taking or not taking CoPE,
but otherwise similar across eight variables
Case studies – research visits to four schools (three
‘thin’ and one ‘wide’), with interviews with
learners, teachers and school managers
National Pupil Database analysis

Multilevel binary logistic regression
 Dependent
1.
2.
3.
4.
variable is outcome in four variations:
GCSE English pass at grades A* to G
GCSE English pass at grades A* to C
GCSE English pass at grades A* or A
Achieving five GCSEs passes at A* to C (inc.
Eng/Maths)
 Identifies
the unique impact of each variable while
holding others constant
 Accounts for clustering of learners within schools
and both individual and school level variables
Variables investigated
School attainment
(%passing English and
Maths at A* to C)
School deprivation (%
living in high IDACI
neighbourhoods)
‘Wide’ or ‘Thin’ CoPE
use – or none
KS3 English outcome,
gender, FSM, SEN, ESL,
ethnicity, persistent
absentee during KS3,
taking CoPE or not
School
Learner
A
Learner
B
NPD findings (1)

GCSE English pass at A* to C:
 In
‘wide’ schools, taking CoPE is associated with a
significantly higher likelihood
 In ‘thin’ schools, taking CoPE is associated with a
significantly lower likelihood
 Other significant predictors:
 Positive:
KS3 English outcome (L6/7), gender (=female),
ethnicity (=BME), ESL (=yes), high school English and
Maths pass rate, high school deprivation
 Negative: KS3 English outcome (L2/3/4), FSM (=yes),
SEN (=yes), KS3 absentee (=yes)
GCSE English A* to C
Pass rate (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
71.4
98.8
97.6
98.3
73.4
65.8
21.5
13.0
No CoPE school
11.5
Wide usage not taking CoPE
Wide usage taking CoPE
Low KS3
Average KS3
High KS3
NPD findings (2)

Five GCSE passes at A* to C inc Eng/Maths:
 In
‘wide’ schools, taking CoPE is associated with a
significantly higher likelihood
 In ‘thin’ schools, taking CoPE is associated with a
significantly lower likelihood
 Other significant predictors:
 Positive:
KS3 English outcome (L6/7), ethnicity (=BME), ESL
(=yes), high school English and Maths pass rate, high
school deprivation
 Negative: KS3 English outcome (L2/3/4), gender
(=female), FSM (=yes), SEN (=yes), KS3 absentee (=yes)
Five GCSEs at A* to C (inc. E&M)
92.2
100
91.1
89.4
90
Pass rate (%)
80
70
60
52.8
46.7
51.6
50
40
30
20
10
6.7
4.0
10.1
0
No CoPE school
Wide usage not taking CoPE
Wide usage taking CoPE
Low KS3
Average KS3
High KS3
Interpretation of findings

In ‘thin’ schools:
 CoPE
is directed towards learners expected to
severely underperform relative to KS3 outcomes
 Learners do still underperform in relation to
achieving A* to C grades, but more likely to take
exams and achieve D or E grades (not F, G or U)
 CoPE perceived to mitigate underperformance

In ‘wide’ schools:
 CoPE
is associated with better A* to C pass rates,
both for English and towards the ‘five good GCSEs’
threshold
Does CoPE work better for some?

Positive relationship of CoPE stronger for:
 Those
with special educational needs
 Those receiving free school meals
 Those from minority ethnic communities, including
those with English as a second/subsidiary language
Suggests specific role for challenging
educational disadvantage
 No coherent relationship between CoPE and
gender

Why does CoPE work?
Not possible to examine statistically
 Rich qualitative data from case study schools
 Three possible mechanisms identified:

 Transferability
of skills from CoPE to GCSEs –
especially written communication
 Increased motivation – learners actively enjoy CoPE
and this engages them with other learning
 Use of wider knowledge and activity base
increases confidence and self-esteem – connects
school to ‘lived lives’
Why does it matter?

CoPE is caught up in the current ‘bonfire of the
vocationals’. The loss of official equivalence
with GCSEs will mean schools are less likely to
offer CoPE. Thus:
 Loss
of a learning process that appears to help a
large number of pupils to gain better GCSEs
(regarded by some as a prime indicator of labour
supply skills)
 Loss of explicit work-related opportunities for many
pupils at the same time as the removal of the
statutory requirement for WRL
Research into the impact of the
Certificate of Personal Effectiveness
(CoPE) on GCSE outcomes
Edge Foundation Research Conference
16th November 2012
Neil Harrison, David James and Kathryn Last