Gamified hidden-assessment platform for diagnosing ICT competences and supporting career guidance among Kazakhstani high-school students

Bibliographic Data

ID22164702
AuthorsNurgul Tokzhigitova, Н К Токжигитова (0000-0003-3777-6454, S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University), Gulzhan Jarassova (0000-0001-9736-0499, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan), Ainur Tokzhigitova (S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University, corresponding author), Nazira Ospanova (S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University), Saduakas Baizhumanov, Садуакас Байжуманов (0000-0001-5609-3697, S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University)
Year2025
Volume10
Publication date2025-08-25
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2504-284X • E-ISSN: 2504-284X
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/feduc.2025.1643246
OpenAlexW4413543678
LanguageEN
References cited15

Digitization is reshaping Kazakhstan's labor market; yet school-based career guidance still relies on paper inventories that fail to uncover students' latent interests in emerging technology domains. We developed Game for Career Guidance (GCG). This bilingual (web-based) platform combines gamification with hidden assessment to profile upper-secondary pupils' competences in programming, cyber-security, web development, graphics/UX, and computer architecture. A 6-week field trial involved 1,865 grade-11 learners from 45 state schools in Pavlodar. Gameplay logs captured unobtrusive event traces, which were converted to Rasch-weighted mastery scores; post-session surveys measured motivation, usability, and state anxiety. Eighty-three percent of participants reached at least medium mastery in three or more domains, and 92 % completed the tutorial and entered formal play. Mean Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (5.6/7) and System Usability Scale (SUS) (76/100) scores indicated high engagement and usability, while state-anxiety remained low (1.9/5). Hierarchical models showed that flow significantly predicted mastery after controlling for prior GPA. Qualitative feedback echoed these findings and emphasized the value of authentic micro-tasks and a seamless Kazakh–Russian interface. The results demonstrate that gamified hidden assessment can motivate learners and deliver fine-grained evidence for counselors without additional testing time. The open-source architecture offers a readily scalable blueprint for modernizing career guidance in other rapidly digitizing educational systems

Engineering management · Information and Communications Technology · Knowledge management · Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Educational Games and Gamification · Engineering · Medicine · Online Learning and Analytics · Psychology · Teaching and Learning Programming

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access