Maximise Marks in HMS and CAFS HSC

If you’ve ever marked a CAFS or Health and Movement Science response and thought, “They know the content… so why aren’t they scoring higher?” you’re not alone.

This week on The PDHPE and CAFS Podcast, I shared something I don’t talk about enough.

Twenty years in the HSC marking space.

Over 40,000 student responses read.

And very clear patterns in what separates average responses from high results.

Here’s the truth.

It’s not more content.

It’s skills.

The Content Is Only Half the Story

When I first started teaching Community and Family Studies in 2004, I did what I thought good teachers did.

Textbook. Notes on the board. Copy it down. Repeat.

My students worked hard.

But I wasn’t explicitly teaching them how to answer an HSC question.

And that is where marks are won.

What HSC Markers Are Really Looking For

After years of marking, here’s what consistently lifts students into Band 5 and 6 territory:

Explicit syllabus knowledge
Not surface understanding. Not vague definitions. Clear, accurate, detailed content.

Glossary of Key Words embedded throughout
Not defined once at the start. Addressed in every paragraph.

Structured responses
Clear PEEL paragraphs. Logical sequencing. Coherence.

Intentional examples
Using SUAVE. Specific. Unique. Applied. Varied. Explicit.

A clear plan before writing
RUN FAR is not optional. It’s the difference between structured thinking and content dumping.

These are not “add-ons”.

They are the backbone of success in Community and Family Studies and Health and Movement Science.

The Biggest Mistakes Costing Students Marks

Across two decades of marking, the same issues keep appearing:

Students don’t unpack the verb properly.
They write everything they know instead of answering the question.
They don’t embed wellbeing clearly in CAFS responses.
They treat 12 and 15 markers like extended notes instead of structured responses.
They leave exam practice until trials.

We can fix this.

But only if we embed exam techniques from Year 11.

Not in Week 9 of Term 3.

From the start.

Empowering Students to Maximise Marks

In the episode, I unpack the EMPOWER framework.

Explicit knowledge.
Meaning and application of Glossary of Key Words.
PEEL structure.
Obvious extended response structure.
Working health and sport examples for HMS or Wellbeing is embedded for CAFS
SUAVE examples.
RUN FAR before writing.

When you consistently embed these skills, something shifts.

Students stop guessing.

They start writing with purpose.

And their confidence grows.

This Is About More Than Band 6

Not every student is chasing a Band 6.

But every student deserves to maximise their marks.

And that comes from deliberate, explicit teaching of exam skills alongside content.

You don’t have to do it all alone.

If this conversation resonated, listen to the full episode here:
thelearnnet.com/164

Let’s lift those responses together.