Which QCE Physical Education past paper do students score lowest on?

The 2023 Exam, averaging 56.7% across 207 marked attempts on AusGrader. The 2021 Exam is the highest on 72.5%.

Which QCE Physical Education dot points give the best return on revision time?

4.1.13 (2.9 marks at risk per 100), 4.1.9 (2.8 marks at risk per 100) and 4.1.21 (2.4 marks at risk per 100). Marks at risk combines a dot point's share of paper marks with the marks students drop on it, so it ranks by recoverable marks and not by score alone.

How many attempts is each QCE Physical Education figure based on?

20,051 marked attempts overall, with the per-row count shown in every table. Any cut below 50 attempts is withheld instead of published.

Do these averages show how the QCAA cohort performed?

No. They are AusGrader users' marked attempts, a self-selected group practising when they chose to and often without exam timing. They corroborate what QCAA publishes about this subject and do not replace it.

QCE Physical Education hardest topics

Across 20,051 marked attempts on AusGrader, QCE Physical Education students average 72.9% on questions taken from board external papers. The lowest average of any command verb is analyse on 54.7%, and the verb that costs the most marks is justify, which carries 49.3% of the paper against 10.0% for analyse. These are self-selected users practising when they chose to, not the QCAA cohort under exam conditions.

How to read these numbers

The figures are AusGrader users' marked attempts, not QCAA results. They corroborate what the board publishes about this subject and do not stand in for it.
Any cut with fewer than 50 attempts is withheld, which on this page is 7 dot points, 1 question type and 10 verbs. Every figure shown carries its attempt count.
Scores cover questions mapped to the QCE Physical Education syllabus from any board's external papers, which is why the sample is larger than the 6 QCAA papers alone. The paper table below is the exception and uses QCAA papers only.
Internal assessment and school-uploaded exams are excluded throughout, so these averages differ from the ones on QCE Physical Education performance stats, which count every attempt.

Score by past paper

Year	Exam	Average	Attempts
2025	Exam	60.3%	209
2024	Exam	61.0%	205
2023	Exam	56.7%	207
2022	Exam	58.5%	159
2021	Exam	72.5%	157
2020	Exam	70.5%	204

The lowest average belongs to the 2023 Exam on 56.7% from 207 attempts, and the highest to the 2021 Exam on 72.5% from 157 attempts. A paper's average reflects both how hard it was and who chose to sit it, so treat the spread as a guide to which papers make demanding practice.

Score by question type

Question type	Average	Attempts
Short answer	69.3%	4,492
Multiple choice	76.2%	15,534

Score by unit

Unit	Average	Attempts
Unit 4: Energy, fitness and training in physical activity	72.1%	17,121

An attempt counts once per unit, so a question assessed across two units appears in both rows and the column adds to slightly more than 20,051.

The priority list: heavy topics with low scores

Topic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
Energy, fitness and training integrated in physical activity	100.0%	72.1%	17,121	27.9

The same cut at dot-point level

Dot point	Content	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
4.1.13	Recognise and explain the features of a training session, including warm-up — e.g. RAMP (raise, activate, mobilise and prepare) approach designed to; raise body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate and joint viscosity; activate and mobilise key muscle groups, joints and range of motion; prepare for exercise by incorporating dynamic stretching; conditioning phase — specifies the relevant fitness components being developed, training methods used, intensity and volume of work, work:rest (W:R) ratios and repetitions, while following relevant training principles; cool down — gentle cardiovascular exercise and stretching designed to gradually reduce heart rate, body temperature, remove waste products and relax muscles	9.3%	69.4%	547	2.9
4.1.9	Identify and explore the application of training methods for physical activity, including flexibility training — to enhance the motion of the body’s joints; resistance training — to enhance muscular strength, power and muscular endurance; variations of interval training — manipulation of work periods and rest periods to enhance specific components of fitness and enhance the aerobic, lactic acid and ATP–PC energy systems, e.g. high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprint interval training (SIT), aerobic interval training; circuit training — to enhance specific components of fitness; continuous training — to enhance aerobic capacity; fartlek training — to enhance aerobic capacity	9.9%	72.2%	3,805	2.8
4.1.21	Reflect on primary data and secondary data to evaluate the effectiveness of the training strategy to achieve a determined outcome, including meeting the energy and fitness requirements of the physical activity; using relevant training principles, training methods and recovery principles; optimising performance of the specialised movement sequences and movement strategies	7.4%	67.2%	68	2.4
4.1.17	Analyse and synthesise primary data and secondary data about position- or event-specific fitness testing of the relevant components of fitness to identify personal performance capacities; specialised movement sequences and movement strategies in authentic performance environments to identify the frequency, direction, intensity and duration of movements; work:rest (W:R) ratios; target heart rate (THR) and maximum heart rate (MHR) to identify training zones	8.0%	71.3%	2,057	2.3
4.1.10	Recognise and explain how the application of different training phases can be sequenced to form an annual plan, known as periodisation, that includes the preparatory phase, pre-competition phase, competition phase and transition phase	4.8%	56.6%	117	2.1
4.1.8	Recognise and explain the application of the principles of training in physical activity, including progressive overload — the planned, gradual increase in training load to ensure that fitness continues to be optimised; frequency — the number of times training occurs in a given period; reversibility — the reversal of adaptations due to a cease in training or training load; intensity — the magnitude of exertion required; duration — the length of training time; specificity — relevant to the energy system, position-specific movements and fitness requirements of an activity; individuality — considerate of personal needs, goals, fitness levels, motivation and skills; variety — the inclusion of a range of movement options, activities and contexts in training	8.4%	77.6%	2,218	1.9
4.1.6	Identify and explore the energy requirements for specialised movement sequences and movement strategies in physical activity by analysing how ATP is resynthesised and transferred during performance; the contribution ratios and interplay of the different energy systems during performance	3.8%	60.5%	698	1.5
4.1.11	Recognise and explain how the different parts of an annual plan can target a specific or series of energy and/or fitness requirements within a designated period of time; the parts include mesocycles — a training period of generally 4–6 weeks with a specific training focus; microcycles — a shorter training period, generally one week, with a more specific training focus and made up of a number of training sessions; training sessions — the organised description of activities within an identified time frame	2.7%	50.8%	63	1.3
4.1.2	Recognise and explain that energy requirements for physical activity involve an ongoing process of ATP resynthesis using various fuel sources; are provided by the interplay of three different pathways, known as energy systems; are dependent on the intensity and duration of exercise	3.7%	70.3%	2,521	1.1
4.1.5	Recognise and explain physiological responses to training, including $VO_2$ max; lactate threshold; lung capacity; the effects on slow and fast twitch muscle fibres; hypertrophy; stroke volume; cardiac output	3.3%	69.5%	5,104	1.0
4.1.7	Identify and explore the fitness requirements for physical activity contexts by considering the components of fitness necessary for the specialised movement sequences	3.3%	73.9%	797	0.9
4.1.3	Recognise and explain which energy systems are used in a range of physical activity contexts. Energy systems include ATP–PC — provides energy anaerobically, without oxygen, for high intensity, short duration exercise; lactic acid — provides energy anaerobically, without oxygen, for high intensity, moderate duration exercise, where ATP is resynthesised using muscle glycogen as the fuel, with resulting lactate formation; aerobic — provides energy aerobically, with oxygen, for sub-maximal intensity, longer duration exercise	2.9%	71.4%	2,756	0.8

Which command verbs cost the most marks

Verb	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
justify	49.3%	62.3%	315	18.6
evaluate	20.1%	63.4%	100	7.4
explain	21.8%	66.3%	1,171	7.3
identify	20.9%	70.9%	524	6.1
analyse	10.0%	54.7%	102	4.5
describe	8.3%	73.0%	251	2.2
provide	2.7%	55.8%	77	1.2

Analyse has the lowest average on the page at 54.7%, and it is not where the marks go. Justify averages 62.3% but carries 49.3% of the paper against 10.0%, so it puts 18.6 marks per 100 at risk against 4.5. Each verb above is practised in the QCE Physical Education question bank, where the marking criteria show what QCAA expects the answer to do.

What this does not measure

Where to practise

Work the priority list from the top: Energy, fitness and training integrated in physical activity first, then the dot points above. Each topic page holds real QCAA questions with marking criteria attached. For what the papers actually cover, read QCE Physical Education most tested topics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is © State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority), licensed under CC BY 4.0. See our QCAA licensing notice. AusGrader is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the QCAA.