ABSTRACT
Assessment practices in examination and senior secondary physical education are the focus of this chapter. The chapter discusses assessment in examination and senior secondary physical education from the perspective of policies, processes and pedagogy. This chapter applies policy and curriculum theory to explore assessment as a contested and complex practice that is powerfully shaped by political, professional and institutional contexts. Drawing on the work of Hay and Penney (2009, 2013) it investigates contemporary assessment requirements and practices with a focus on the concepts of assessment efficacy and literacy. Returning to Arnold’s (1979) work analysis pursues the ways in which movement and discourses of performance are positioned in contemporary assessment policy and practices. Discussion explores how certain assessment practices are legitimised and privileged in the name of external validation while other ways of knowing and assessing are marginalised, and looks at the challenges and dilemmas that assessment raises for equity in examination and senior secondary physical education.
