Assessment and reporting in PDHPE
Assessment for PDHPE provides information to support learning and reporting of performance. Find out about assessment requirements and the structure of the HSC exam.
School-based assessment requirements
Schools are required to develop an assessment program for each Year 11 and Year 12 course. NESA provides information about the responsibilities of schools in developing assessment programs in course-specific assessment and reporting requirements and in the Assessment Certification Examination (ACE) rules and requirements.
Year 11
Schools are required to submit to NESA a grade for each student based on their achievement at the end of the course.
Teachers use professional, on-balance judgement to allocate grades based on the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses.
Teachers consider all available assessment information, including formal and informal assessment, to determine the grade that best matches each student’s achievement at the end of the course.
The Year 11 formal school-based assessment program is to reflect the following components, weightings, and requirements.
| Component | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding of course content | 40% |
| Skills in critical thinking, research, analysis and communicating | 60% |
Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task.
Year 12
NESA requires schools to submit a school-based assessment mark for each Year 12 candidate in a course. Formal school-based assessment tasks are based on course requirements and components and weightings that contribute to the determination of the final mark for a course. The mark submitted by the school provides a summation of each student’s achievement measured at several points throughout the course.
The marks submitted for each course group at a school should reflect the rank order of students and must be on a scale sufficiently wide to reflect adequately the relative differences in student performances. The actual mark should not be revealed to students as it is subject to moderation and may become confusing for students when they receive their results. Students must be informed that they can obtain their Assessment Rank Order Notice from Students Online after the last HSC exam at their centre and within the time for appeals.
The school-based assessment marks submitted to NESA for Year 12 must not include measures that address values and attitudes or reflect student conduct. Schools may decide to report on these separately to students and parents/carers.
The collection of information for the Year 12 school-based assessment mark must not begin before the completion of the Year 11 course.
The components and weightings for Year 12 are mandatory.
| Component | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding of course content | 40% |
| Skills in critical thinking, research, analysis and communicating | 60% |
Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task.
Formal written exam
This task may assess a broad range of course content and outcomes. Schools may choose to replicate the timing and structure of the HSC exam.
HSC exam specifications
The external HSC exam measures student achievement in a range of syllabus outcomes.
The external exam and its marking relate to the syllabus by:
- providing clear links to syllabus outcomes
- enabling students to demonstrate the levels of achievement outlined in the performance band descriptions
- applying marking guidelines based on criteria that relate to the quality of the response
- aligning performance in the exam each year to the standards established for the course.
Exam questions may require candidates to integrate knowledge, understanding and skills developed through studying the course.
The exam will consist of a written paper worth 100 marks.
Time allowed: 3 hours plus 5 minutes reading time.
The paper will consist of two sections.
Section I – Core (60 marks)
This section will consist of two parts.
Across this section there will be equal weighting given to each core module.
Part A (20 marks)
- There will be objective response questions to the value of 20 marks.
Part B (40 marks)
- There will be approximately six short-answer questions.
- Questions may contain parts.
- There will be approximately eight items in total.
- At least one item will be worth from 6 to 8 marks.
Section II – Options (40 marks)
- There will be two questions for each of the five options.
- Candidates will be required to answer both questions on the two options they have studied.
- The first question on each option will be worth 8 marks and may contain parts.
- The second question on each option will be an extended response worth 12 marks with an expected length of response of around three and a half pages of an exam writing booklet (approximately 500 words).