There seems to be an issue with A-level PE NEA

Dear colleague,

Please be aware that this post is time-sensitive and is written in August 2023. If you are reading this post in future years, this may (or may not) be less relevant.

Since A-level results day on 17th August 2023, I have been receiving a flow of posts, direct messages and emails relating to concerns regarding A-level PE Non-Examined Assessment. Colleagues are reporting to me that their internal assessment scores have been marked down, sometimes by very significant margins with only a small amount of information available as to the context of these reductions.

Now, it needs to be stated clearly that exam boards do and should have the right to downgrade internal assessment marks if those marks are out of balance with national marking standards. I utterly agree with this fundamental need and support the exam boards fully to attain reliable and consistent protocols to this end.

However, in summer 2023, I have found it abnormal that so many A-level PE centres – all of whom are independent of one another – have approached me with serious concerns about downgrading of marks. Therefore, for the good of the sector and the ongoing faith that teachers and centres need to have in A-level PE courses, I have chosen to pen (type) this post.

The post has two primary aims:

• To gather information from centres regarding their experiences of A-level PE NEA moderation in 2023. This includes the need for teachers who are perfectly happy with the process to report this.
• To discover whether there is, indeed, an issue and, if so, to feed this back to the sector in the most balanced and informative way possible.

Please note that, as well as posting this blog publicly, I will be approaching the exam boards themselves for further information.

In order to support this process, I would be grateful if you could complete this form regarding your experiences. All responses are completely confidential and no specific information about your centre will be shared publicly nor with the exam board in question.

I wish to equally invite those with concerns about the A-level PE NEA along with those who are utterly satisfied.

What happens now?

I will do the following things:

• Collate the information and report this back to the sector.
• Contact all exam-board subject officers and request their insight.
• In time, make recommendations to colleagues about the balanced way forward.

Finally, I am really concerned that these experiences could lead colleagues to take imminent, drastic decisions regarding course continuation or enrollment processes. I urge colleagues not to jump to any conclusions at this point and await more feedback in due course.

James