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

Tokzhigitova N. Jarassova G. Tokzhigitova A. Ospanova N. Baizhumanov S.
2025 Frontiers Media SA

Frontiers in Education
2025 #10

Digitization is reshaping Kazakhstans 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. Copyright

career guidance , digital skills , gamification , hidden assessment , Kazakhstan , mixed-methods study , react three fiber , secondary education

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Faculty of Computer Science, Toraighyrov University, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
Committee of Higher and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan

Faculty of Computer Science
Committee of Higher and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan

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