A and AS Level PE – marking the practical performances NEA component

Jon Varey, PE and Sport Subject Advisor

In this blog post, we will explore the best practices for marking and evaluating students’ work in the practical performance (05) component of the A and AS level PE qualification. I hope you find this helpful for the new academic year.

The ‘best fit’ approach to marking

When evaluating practical activities and coaching, it’s vital that you follow the ‘best fit’ approach. This means rewarding achievement based on the given marking criteria and specific activity assessment criteria. You should exercise your professional judgment to determine the most accurate descriptor that best represents the student’s work.

Understanding the marking criteria

In order to use the ‘best fit’ approach, it is crucial that before you start the assessment process you thoroughly familiarise yourself with the marking criteria for each level of achievement. By doing so, you can gauge the standard of performance expected at each level, making the assessment process more objective and reliable. 

It’s also important to be familiar with the assessment criteria for the activities you will be assessing. You may need to seek help from a colleague or sport specific coach if the activity is new to you or less familiar. Doing this early in the process is advised as it will give you the time to deal with any problems that may occur.

Use the full range of marks

You should use the full range of marks available to you when assessing a candidate. If a candidate’s performance fully meets the descriptor of a particular level, they deserve to be awarded full marks for their efforts. To make sure you have accurate assessment outcomes you should rank order the candidates within each level. This will help assign the correct mark within the level.

Ongoing assessment

It’s crucial to adopt an ongoing assessment approach for practical activities and coaching. By evaluating candidates consistently, you can establish your candidates’ capabilities. This will help them replicate their best performance in moderation situations and, if required, during the moderation day. 

Ongoing assessment offers several advantages. It can help establish accurate rank orders for candidates within specific activities. It can also be useful if a candidate experiences injuries that may prevent them from being assessed at some point during the course.

Internal standardisation

One area that can be overlooked is internal standardisation. It really is important to remember that all teachers who are internal assessors for the qualification should adhere to common standards. It’s essential and should ensure that candidates are assessed consistently across different physical activities. 

Centres should implement an appropriate procedure for internal standardisation of marks across teachers, teaching groups, and physical activities. This will ensure fairness and accuracy in the evaluation of your candidates. In order to achieve this, centres should designate one member of staff as responsible for all AS or A Level Physical Education marks. This designated staff member will play a vital role in ensuring comparability across activities, candidates, and those awarding marks. 

Getting this process correct should make sure that candidates are fairly assessed, regardless of the teacher or activity involved. Therefore, each centre must internally standardise assessment across different activities, even if different staff members taught them. The designated member of staff will oversee and ensure that all assessments are standardised and accurate, particularly in cases where multiple teachers have been involved in the assessment process.

Support

We have several resources that will help you have confidence in your application of the mark scheme for AS and A Level Physical Education: 

• A free on-line marking course is available on OCR Train. This can be completed in your own time and includes practical performance videos with examiner commentaries. 
• The guide to NEA will provide you with all the information you need to implement this component of the qualification. 
• You will find the practical assessment grid and the coaching assessment grid useful when completing your marking. 
• Each year we run professional development sessions which include exemplar performances as well as advice and guidance. You can access the materials from past courses on the professional development section of our website. 
• Do refer to the reports which are published after each series, which often include pointers on marking and common errors. You can access these on the Assessment section of Teach Cambridge (login required). 

By following the best practices outlined in this blog, you can create a positive, fair, and comprehensive assessment process for practical activities. Please let us know if you have any tips or ideas you would like to share and as always, please contact us if you require further information.

Stay connected

If you have any questions, you can email us at pe@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or tweet us @OCR_PhysEd. You can also sign up to subject updates to receive information about resources and support.

About the authors

Jon joined OCR as a PE and sport subject advisor in September 2021 having taught in a variety of secondary schools across the country for over 20 years, gaining a wealth of experience and subject knowledge. During this time, he has set up, delivered, and assessed a wide range of courses within physical education and sport. In his spare time, he is a keen runner and enthusiastic mountain biker, enjoys attending sporting and music events when possible and walking his two whippets.