Notes · Physical EducationUK · A-Levels

Practical Performance and Analysis (Non-Exam Assessment)

This chapter explains the non-exam assessment (NEA), which is worth 30% of the A-Level. It sets out how the practical performance (as a performer or coach) and the analysis and evaluation of performance are assessed, shows how to identify strengths and weaknesses against a model performer, and explains how to apply theory from across the whole specification to justify a development plan that improves a chosen weakness.

3 sections~12 min reading time3 competenciesLevel Foundation 1 · Standard 1 · Advanced 1

T·171717 / 17

Exam profile

AO4 · Demonstrate and apply skills as a performer or coach in a fully competitive situationAO2 · Apply theoretical knowledge from across the specification to the analysis of performanceAO3 · Analyse and evaluate performance and justify a development plan to optimise it

Operators:analyseevaluateapplyjustifyassessdescribe

basic level

AS-Level requires competent practical performance and the identification of strengths and weaknesses in a chosen activity.

higher level

The full A-Level NEA requires the detailed analysis and evaluation of performance and a development plan justified with theory from across the specification.

Depth

Text

Contents · 3 sections

Practical Performance and Analysis (Non-Exam Assessment)

The NEA: structure and assessment#

FoundationAQA 7582 NEADfE GCE PE - non-exam assessment

Structure of the non-exam assessment

Fig. 1The NEA (30% of the A-Level) has two equally weighted parts: the practical performance (as a performer or coach) and the analysis and evaluation of performance.

The non-exam assessment (NEA) is the practical component of the A-Level and is worth 30% of the qualification. It has two equally weighted parts: the student's practical performance in one activity (worth 45 marks) and an analysis and evaluation of performance (worth 45 marks). It is internally marked by the centre and externally moderated by the awarding body, so the practical performance must be captured (typically on video) as evidence for the moderator, and it must be demonstrated in a fully competitive, formal situation - not just in isolated drills.

For the practical performance the student is assessed in one role, either as a player/performer or as a coach, in a single activity chosen from the awarding body's approved list. As a performer, they are assessed on their skills and techniques and, crucially, on their ability to apply them effectively in the full, competitive context of the activity (a match, a competition, a performance), not merely in isolation. As a coach, they are assessed on their ability to plan, deliver and evaluate coaching, including the application of skills, techniques and tactics and the management of performers.

The second part, the analysis and evaluation of performance (often called the AEP), is a written or verbal piece in which the student analyses a performance - their own or another performer's - to identify its strengths and weaknesses, and then evaluates it and produces a plan to improve a chosen weakness. This is where the theory of the whole course is applied to a real performance, so the AEP is the synoptic heart of the qualification, drawing together the physiological, biomechanical, psychological and skill-acquisition strands.

Understanding the assessment structure guides how a student prepares: they must reach a high standard in the competitive performance of their chosen role and activity, gather appropriate evidence, and develop the analytical skills to break a performance down and to apply theory to improving it. The two parts are complementary - the practical shows what the student can do, and the analysis and evaluation shows that they understand why performance succeeds or fails and how to improve it. Knowing exactly what each part assesses, and how the marks are divided, is the starting point for succeeding in the NEA.

Worked example

Planning for the NEA

A student is a strong hockey player but is unsure how the NEA is structured. Explain what they will be assessed on and how the marks are divided.

Choose the role and activity
The student picks one activity (hockey) and one role - here, performer - and will be assessed in the full, competitive game.
Practical performance (45 marks)
They are assessed on their skills, techniques and their application in competitive match play, with video evidence for the moderator.
Analysis and evaluation (45 marks)
They complete an AEP analysing a performance, identifying strengths and weaknesses and producing a theory-based plan to improve a weakness.
Overall
The two parts together are worth 90 marks and 30% of the A-Level, split equally between doing and analysing.

Result: The student is assessed on competitive hockey performance (45 marks) and on an analysis and evaluation of performance (45 marks) - together 30% of the A-Level.

Typical mistakes

Thinking the practical is assessed in isolated drills - it must be demonstrated in a full, competitive situation.
Underestimating the analysis and evaluation of performance - it is worth as much as the practical performance itself.

Active revision

Describe the two parts of the NEA and their marks, and explain why the practical performance must be assessed in a fully competitive situation.

Active recall

Recall the key points — then reveal.

Sources: GCE AS and A level subject content for physical education (Department for Education) · AQA A-level Physical Education 7582 specification (AQA)

Analysing performance: strengths and weaknesses#

StandardAQA 7582 NEADfE GCE PE - analysis of performance

Analysing a performance

Fig. 2Performance is broken into fitness, skills/techniques and tactics/strategies; each is compared with a model performer to identify a precise weakness.

The first task of the analysis and evaluation of performance is to analyse a performance systematically to identify its strengths and, above all, its weaknesses, because a weakness cannot be improved until it has been precisely identified. A good analysis is structured and objective rather than a vague impression: it breaks the performance down into its components and examines each in turn, ideally using evidence (video, data, observation) rather than memory or opinion, which links directly to the performance-analysis technology of the previous chapter.

Performance is broken down into three main areas to analyse. The fitness components examine the physical requirements of the activity - the relevant aerobic and anaerobic fitness, strength, speed, power, flexibility and agility - and how well the performer meets them. The skills and techniques examine how well the specific movements of the activity are executed (a hockey player's passing, tackling and dribbling technique). The tactics, strategies and compositional elements examine the decision-making and the choices made in performance (positioning, use of space, choice of shot). Analysing all three gives a complete picture.

The identified strengths and weaknesses are made meaningful by comparison with a model, or elite, performer. By comparing the student's performance in a component with how a high-level performer executes it, the specific gap - the precise fault - becomes clear (for example, the elbow dropping in a throw, or the wrong choice of pass under pressure). This comparison turns a general sense that something is 'weak' into a precise, correctable target, and it is a required part of the analysis.

The output of this stage is a clear, justified identification of one (or more) key weakness to address, prioritised by its importance to overall performance. The analysis should be honest and specific: identifying a genuine, significant weakness that, if improved, would most raise performance, and stating exactly what the fault is and how it differs from the model. This precise identification is essential because it determines what the development plan must target - a vague or wrongly chosen weakness leads to an ineffective plan. Carrying out a structured, evidence-based analysis and identifying a precise weakness against a model is the analytical skill this section builds.

Worked example

Identifying a precise weakness

A club netball centre feels their game is 'not good enough'. Show how to turn this into a precise, targeted weakness using the analysis process.

Break the performance down
Analyse the centre's fitness (agility, aerobic endurance), skills (passing, footwork, dodging) and tactics (positioning, feeding the shooters).
Gather evidence
Use video of a match to observe each component objectively rather than relying on a general feeling.
Compare with a model
Comparison with an elite centre shows the student's footwork is sound but their aerobic endurance fades in the last quarter, reducing their court coverage.
State the precise weakness
The specific, significant weakness is aerobic endurance, causing a drop in work rate and court coverage late in the game - a clear, correctable target.

Result: The vague 'not good enough' becomes a precise weakness - a lack of aerobic endurance reducing late-game work rate - identified by structured analysis against a model.

Typical mistakes

Identifying a vague weakness ('needs to be fitter') instead of a precise, specific fault that can be targeted.
Analysing only skills and ignoring the fitness and the tactical/strategic components of performance.

Active revision

Analyse a named performer in a sport of your choice, using the three areas (fitness, skills, tactics), and identify one precise weakness by comparison with an elite performer.

Active recall

Recall the key points — then reveal.

Sources: GCE AS and A level subject content for physical education (Department for Education) · AQA A-level Physical Education 7582 specification (AQA)

Evaluation and the development plan#

AdvancedAQA 7582 NEADfE GCE PE - evaluation and development of performance

The development-plan cycle

Fig. 3An identified weakness is addressed with theory-justified methods; progress is measured and the plan reviewed and adjusted - a continuous cycle drawing on the whole course.

Having identified a precise weakness, the student evaluates its causes and produces a development (action) plan to improve it, and this is where the theory from the whole specification is applied - making the analysis and evaluation of performance the synoptic climax of the course. The plan must be justified with theory: rather than simply suggesting 'more practice', the student explains, using the relevant principles from across the A-Level, exactly what should be done, how and why it will work.

The theory drawn on depends on the weakness, and this is the crucial synoptic skill. A fitness weakness is addressed using exercise physiology and training: the appropriate training method, the correct principles of training (specificity, progressive overload), the right training zone (calculated as in the training-methods topic) and periodisation. A technical (skill) weakness is addressed using skill acquisition: the appropriate practice structure, guidance and feedback for the skill and the performer's stage of learning, perhaps supported by biomechanical analysis of the fault. A tactical or psychological weakness is addressed using sport psychology: goal setting, imagery, stress management, attribution or confidence-building, chosen and justified from the relevant theory.

A good development plan is specific, realistic and measurable, mirroring the SMART principles of goal setting. It states the corrective methods precisely (which drills, which training sessions, which psychological techniques), sets a realistic timescale, specifies how progress will be measured (re-testing fitness, re-analysing technique on video, monitoring competitive performance), and builds in review so the plan can be adjusted. In this way the plan is not a wish list but a justified, evaluable programme, and the requirement to measure progress closes the analysis-and-improvement loop introduced with performance technology.

The overarching skill, and the reason this component is worth so much, is that it demonstrates command of the whole subject applied to a real problem: taking a genuine weakness in a real performance and drawing on physiology, biomechanics, skill acquisition and psychology to build a justified plan to improve it, then evaluating how that plan would be monitored and adjusted. This is the highest-order AO3 skill - the analysis and evaluation of performance to optimise it - and it is why A-Level PE is a genuinely integrated subject rather than a collection of separate topics. Constructing and justifying a theory-based development plan for an identified weakness is the culminating task of the whole course.

Worked example

A theory-justified development plan

A netball centre's identified weakness is poor aerobic endurance, causing a drop in work rate late in matches. Produce a justified development plan to improve it.

Choose the method with theory
Because aerobic endurance is the weakness, use continuous and interval training (exercise physiology), applying specificity (netball-specific movement) and progressive overload.
Set the correct intensity
Train in the aerobic zone: estimate maximum heart rate as 220 minus age and target roughly 60-80% (or use the Karvonen method), so the sessions develop aerobic capacity.
Make it SMART
Set a specific, measurable, time-bound goal - e.g. improve the multi-stage fitness test score by a set amount in eight weeks - with a realistic weekly training schedule.
Measure and review
Re-test fitness and re-analyse late-game work rate on video after the block, and adjust the plan (progression, method) in the light of the results.

Result: The plan uses continuous and interval training in the correct aerobic zone, justified by exercise-physiology theory, set as a SMART goal with re-testing and review - a synoptic, theory-based response to the weakness.

Typical mistakes

Suggesting 'more practice' without justifying the specific methods with theory from physiology, skill acquisition or psychology.
Producing a plan with no way to measure progress or review it - it must be measurable and evaluable.

Active revision

For a weakness you have identified in a performer, produce a theory-justified development plan, stating the methods, the theory behind them, the timescale and how progress will be measured.

Active recall

Recall the key points — then reveal.

Sources: GCE AS and A level subject content for physical education (Department for Education) · AQA A-level Physical Education 7582 specification (AQA)

References & sources

Sources

Department for Education

GCE AS and A level subject content for physical education

AQA

AQA A-level Physical Education 7582 specification

Practical Performance and Analysis (Non-Exam Assessment)

3 sections~12 min reading time3 competenciesLevel Foundation 1 · Standard 1 · Advanced 1

Practical Performance and Analysis (Non-Exam Assessment)

Key points

Planning for the NEA

Key points

Identifying a precise weakness

Key points

A theory-justified development plan

Sources

Practical Performance and Analysis (Non-Exam Assessment)

Key points

Planning for the NEA

Key points

Identifying a precise weakness

Key points

A theory-justified development plan

Sources