Non-exam assessment
Non-exam assessment is work that counts towards a qualification but is completed outside examination conditions - coursework, practical or project work - usually marked in school and moderated by the exam board.
What is non-exam assessment (NEA)?
Non-exam assessment is the part of a qualification assessed outside an examination - coursework, practical work, performances or projects. It is normally marked by teachers against the board's criteria, then sampled and moderated by the exam board to confirm the school applied the standard correctly.
Non-exam assessment covers what an examination cannot reach: sustained investigation, practical skill, performance, work produced over weeks rather than hours. It replaced "coursework" as the umbrella term as the rules tightened, and it now comes with detailed requirements on supervision, authentication and how much help a teacher may give.
How it is marked and checked
The school marks the work against the board's criteria, then submits marks along with a sample of the work itself. A board moderator re-marks the sample to check the school's standard. If the sample suggests the school marked generously or harshly, the board can adjust the whole cohort's marks - which is why internal standardisation across teachers matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Why it carries more administrative risk
The requirements are procedural as well as academic. Work has to be authenticated as the student's own, supervision conditions have to be met and recorded, and the permitted level of teacher guidance is specified. Departments generally find the marking itself less demanding than the compliance around it, and errors there can affect results for an entire cohort rather than one student.
Key takeaways
- Non-exam assessment is qualification work completed outside examination conditions.
- Schools mark it against the board's criteria; the board moderates a sample to check the standard.
- A sample suggesting generous or harsh marking can move the whole cohort's marks.
- Its administrative requirements - authentication, supervision, permitted guidance - carry as much risk as the marking.
Frequently asked questions
Is non-exam assessment the same as coursework?
Broadly it is the successor term. "Coursework" is still widely used informally, but exam boards use "non-exam assessment" to cover the wider range of work assessed outside examinations - practical work, performances and fieldwork as well as written projects - under tighter rules on supervision and authentication.
Why does internal standardisation matter so much for NEA?
Because the exam board moderates the school's marking as a whole. If different teachers in a department apply the criteria differently, the sample sent for moderation may not represent the cohort, and any adjustment the board makes applies to every student - not only those whose work was sampled.
Related terms
Moderation
Moderation is the process by which teachers compare samples of marked work to check that a mark scheme has been applied consistently, so the same work would receive the same mark whoever marked it.
Standardisation
Standardisation is the process of agreeing how a mark scheme should be applied before marking begins - typically by marking exemplar work together - so that every marker works to the same standard.
Summative assessment
Summative assessment is assessment used to measure and report what a student has achieved at the end of a period of teaching, such as an end-of-unit test, a mock or a public examination.
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