GCSE PE practical element scores

[PollyGlowing]

DD has received her GCSE PE practical element scores and she's been scored low in her main sport. She plays in an academy for this particular sport and is generally considered (not just by me!) very good at it but due to other commitments does not usually play for her school team and apparently this is why she has scored lower. Other girls with far less experience but who play for the school team have been scored higher. Has this happened to anyone else? I know there is a coursework element and an exam too but the practical scores are worth 40% of the overall mark.

Hi @PollyGlowing I’m sorry to read this, it must be frustrating, but tbh I would be surprised if she were marked down because she doesn’t play for the school team. Has she actually been told that by PE staff?

The 40% as I am sure you know includes three sports and also an analysis element; the actual marks for AQA PE (for example) are 25 for each sport plus 25 for the analysis (scaled up slightly to 104 marks total). So even if she gained a lower mark for one sport, there are two others to be rated. It’s not just about how good you are at the sport – key elements also include development of ability and solving problems, so it’s possible for a candidate to do well even if they are not such a good player if that makes sense, as long as they can show good improvement. After all, not that many 16yos are performing at a high level in three sports. DS offered one sport he only played in school PE lessons.

Was there a chance for staff to assess her sport in situ or was her assessment carried out at school – and did this impact the assessment, as in was there a problem evidencing her skills? How did she do in her other sports?

Does she want to continue PE in Six form?

In our school PE is pass- fail at GCSE

Has she provided enough video evidence of the skills as defined in the mark scheme? We’ve been collating in order to show progress, as well as skill level.

DD’s school asks for lots of footage of any sports played externally, whereas the local boy’s school seems to do it all in house. If your DD’s school are doing it all in house that could be the issue.

Yes, the PE staff said that she got a low mark because she had not taken part in this particular sport at school, even though they told her that there was enough evidence to score her for it from her performance in it outside of school. Her low mark looks even more strange as she got a higher mark for another sport that she doesn't do outside of school but one in which she plays in the school team for. She is definitely not particularly skilled at this other sport and the school team she is part of does not win many games. The third sport was a slightly niche one they did at school that she'd never tried before and she got a fairly low mark for that one so her overall practical mark is coming out low for a very sporty child (she does other sports too, sadly none that are on the list for PE). She is now considering dropping PE from her GCSEs.

This seems to be the problem, it's an independent school and it seems that those who play in the relevant school teams get better scores.

Really? where is this? In England it is a graded GCSE like any other - from 1 to 9.

Can she ask for the teacher to go and see her perform outside the school or as others have said submit video evidence of her performance? We have spent hours filming and editing stuff for this (eg skiing) to show performance again certain criteria. Can you appeal to the exam board?

Ah that seems very poor tbh. Especially if staff told her there was good evidence. Do you have this in any written form (or can you get it)?

Because this element is assessed internally, I believe there may be a complaints process – I think I have seen it referenced on other threads (about art or music or DT IIRC but presumably there is similar for PE) – I would look into that. If she is year 11 it’s a shame to think of dropping it. What mark did she get overall? (only if you are happy to share obvs).

How did using the advice on your last thread on this a few months ago go OP?

We've asked if we can submit videos of her games (all of them get filmed as a matter of course). It's such a strange and unexpected situation, we had assumed this would be the easy part for her as she is so sporty and the exams would be the hard part but now it seems the other way round! She wants to do PE for A-level so I think she would need the GCSE for that, though she is upset and wants to drop it altogether.

Sorry? I have not posted on this before.

Oh yes if she wants to do it for A level then she should continue with the GCSE for sure. What sort of grade is she looking at now? It’s upsetting of course but as long as she is looking at a 6/7 A level should be fine. Especailly with this disputed issue.

Is she good at biology? DS took A level PE and it was acc him basically A level biology (which he also took haha).

I think realistically we might now be looking at 6, rather than the 7/8 she was predicted, unless she does amazingly well in the exam. Not sure if that would be enough for A-level.

I would pursue an appeal/complaint if that can be done.

If that gets nowhere, Many schools will accept a grade 6 for A level esp if you can adduce an unexpected loss of marks like this.

The practical element (not the analysis) was only 15% of ds2’s A level PE IIRC, just for info.

The whole thing is always odd I think, how really can the teachers assess all sports? There’s also an external assessment day at some point and I have seen whole years marks changing as a result. I’d complain in your instance as it’s not fair she’s marked down for not playing in school team!

Sorry Clare. They have something like Core PE which pass- fail but if somebody takes PE as an additional subject then it is graded. My mistake. Mea culpa

This isn’t right, you don’t have to play in the school at all - my dd did two of hers outside of school and submitted evidence. Check the exam board criteria (may have changed) before writing to the school

@bestbefore for sure PE teachers can assess all sports. How could it work otherwise? That's a bit like saying an Eng lit teacher can only teach or assess their specialisms. There are criteria to use that are clearly laid down.

That said, as I say, I think this is worth the OP pursuing, not bc teachers can't assess her DC's ability in rugby but bc they don't seem to have done so fairly.

The only thing i would add to loads of great comments from pp is
are you sure your dc has addressed all the points on the spec.
I mark a specific sport for our pe department ( have competed to a high level in it, have relevant qualifications etc)
My most common reasons for marking kids down is that have not provided the evidence required by the exam board, in my case they need not only to show competition elements but they must also demonstrate specific elements in a non competitive environment. PM me if you want more specific details

We didn't provide any videos/evidence as school didn't want any (we asked), they said they would assess 'live'. We have now asked if we can provide videos but I have a feeling that her score isn't going to change. I have spoken to the mums of some of her team mates who go to other schools and they have all received much higher scores. Trying to stay positive and hoping she can perform a miracle in the exam.

Trying to stay positive and hoping she can perform a miracle in the exam.

@PollyGlowing you can request a formal review of the mark, via the school though, as an actual action to take. The first thing is to contact the school and ask to see the assessment material, as I understand it anyway. Have you done that already? You have the option to escalate it I think if you feel procedure was not followed (others may know better on this).

I would however caution against comparing your DD with others in her team who gained different marks. You cannot know what they did in their assessments, and just bc they play at a similar standard in the team, that doesn't mean they didn't hit the mark scheme better than your DD. I mean I'm not saying it’s so obviously, but the focus on your DD's performance is key.