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

The 2024 Exam, averaging 69.1% across 3,707 marked attempts on AusGrader. The 2022 Exam is the highest on 76.5%.

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

3.1.3 (3.3 marks at risk per 100), 3.1.4 (2.5 marks at risk per 100) and 3.2.4 (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 VCE Physical Education figure based on?

23,656 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 VCAA 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 VCAA publishes about this subject and do not replace it.

VCE Physical Education hardest topics

Across 23,656 marked attempts on AusGrader, VCE Physical Education students average 72.6% on questions taken from board external papers. The lowest average of any command verb is analyse on 55.3%, and the verb that costs the most marks is explain, which carries 30.7% of the paper against 4.1% for analyse. These are self-selected users practising when they chose to, not the VCAA cohort under exam conditions.

How to read these numbers

The figures are AusGrader users' marked attempts, not VCAA 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 1 topic, 9 dot points and 13 verbs. Every figure shown carries its attempt count.
Scores cover questions mapped to the VCE Physical Education study design from any board's external papers, which is why the sample is larger than the 6 VCAA papers alone. The paper table below is the exception and uses VCAA papers only.
Internal assessment and school-uploaded exams are excluded throughout, so these averages differ from the ones on VCE Physical Education performance stats, which count every attempt.

Score by past paper

Year	Exam	Average	Attempts
2025	Exam	73.7%	5,391
2024	Exam	69.1%	3,707
2023	Exam	73.1%	3,445
2022	Exam	76.5%	2,970
2021	Exam	72.8%	3,222
2020	Exam	73.3%	4,041

The lowest average belongs to the 2024 Exam on 69.1% from 3,707 attempts, and the highest to the 2022 Exam on 76.5% from 2,970 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
Extended response	51.7%	68
Short answer	70.1%	3,582
Multiple choice	74.6%	20,006

Score by unit

Unit	Average	Attempts
Unit 4: Training to improve performance	71.7%	10,930
Unit 3: Movement skills and energy for physical activity, sport and exercise	73.4%	13,378

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 23,656.

The priority list: heavy topics with low scores

Topic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
How is training implemented effectively to improve fitness?	27.2%	70.5%	7,604	8.0
How does the body produce energy?	27.3%	70.8%	5,412	8.0
How are movement skills improved?	31.2%	75.3%	8,004	7.7
What are the foundations of an effective training program?	13.6%	74.2%	4,179	3.5

The topic list is close: 8.0 against 8.0 marks at risk separates first from second, so topic choice alone will not order revision. The dot-point list below spreads further.

The same cut at dot-point level

Dot point	Content	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
3.1.3	considerations when coaching to enhance participation and performance sociocultural factors that affect skill development; characteristics of the 3 stages of learning (cognitive, associative and autonomous); theories of skill acquisition (linear vs non-linear) applied through direct and constraint-based approaches; psychological skills (confidence, motivation, optimal arousal and concentration) and accompanying strategies; scheduling of practice including type (part and whole), distribution (massed and distributed) and variability (blocked and random); frequency and type of feedback including intrinsic and augmented (knowledge of results and knowledge of performance)	12.4%	73.4%	4,723	3.3
3.1.4	biomechanical principles for analysis of human movement linear and angular concepts of human movement including force/torque, momentum, impulse and speed/velocity; Newton’s 3 laws of linear motion: inertia, acceleration and action-reaction; projectile motion (height, angle and speed of release); anatomical third-class levers (axis, force, resistance and mechanical advantage); equilibrium: stability (centre of gravity, base of support and line of gravity)	9.2%	73.4%	2,371	2.5
3.2.4	the interplay of energy systems in relation to the intensity and duration of physical activity, sport and exercise	6.4%	62.8%	1,207	2.4
4.2.5	chronic adaptations of the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems to aerobic, anaerobic and resistance training that produce improvements in $VO_2$ max; lactate inflection point (LIP); speed and force of muscular contraction; lactate tolerance	5.9%	62.6%	2,532	2.2
3.2.3	the 3 energy systems (ATP-CP, anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic), including their fuels (chemical and food); rate and yield of each system; their contribution at rest and varying intensities; and recovery rates associated with active and passive recovery	6.3%	70.8%	2,259	1.8
4.2.4	training methods, including continuous, interval (short, intermediate, long and HIIT), fartlek, circuit, weight/resistance, flexibility and plyometrics	5.7%	68.1%	2,243	1.8
4.1.2	factors affecting fitness components required in physical activity, sport or exercise (aerobic power, anaerobic capacity, muscular strength, power and endurance, flexibility, balance, coordination, speed and agility)	4.8%	73.5%	2,173	1.3
4.1.3	assessment of fitness for an activity the purpose of fitness testing from physiological and psychological perspectives; pre-participation health screening and informed consent; standardised, recognised fitness tests that test appropriately identified physiological requirements; test reliability, validity and accuracy	4.8%	75.8%	1,279	1.2
4.2.3	training program principles, including frequency, intensity, time/duration, type, progression, specificity, individuality, diminishing returns, variety, maintenance, tapering, overtraining and detraining	5.0%	79.8%	2,309	1.0
4.2.11	explain how the chronic adaptations of the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems to training lead to improved performance	3.7%	73.0%	986	1.0
3.2.2	acute physiological responses to exercise in the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems	4.1%	77.8%	893	0.9
3.2.1	oxygen uptake at rest and during physical activity and recovery, including oxygen deficit, steady state and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)	3.3%	75.6%	1,234	0.8

Which command verbs cost the most marks

Verb	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
explain	30.7%	66.3%	1,044	10.3
discuss	10.0%	64.3%	207	3.6
describe	8.3%	74.5%	345	2.1
identify	6.9%	71.3%	355	2.0
analyse	4.1%	55.3%	75	1.8
justify	5.4%	66.1%	274	1.8
outline	6.1%	73.3%	330	1.6
evaluate	3.5%	69.7%	67	1.1

Analyse has the lowest average on the page at 55.3%, and it is not where the marks go. Explain averages 66.3% but carries 30.7% of the paper against 4.1%, so it puts 10.3 marks per 100 at risk against 1.8. Each verb above is practised in the VCE Physical Education question bank, where the marking criteria show what VCAA expects the answer to do.

What this does not measure

Where to practise

Work the priority list from the top: How is training implemented effectively to improve fitness? and How does the body produce energy? first, then the dot points above. Each topic page holds real VCAA questions with marking criteria attached. For what the papers actually cover, read VCE Physical Education most tested topics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is reproduced by permission, © VCAA. See our VCAA licensing notice. The VCAA does not endorse or make any warranties regarding this study resource. VCE® is a registered trademark of the VCAA.