Beyond Fun: Gamified Multidomain Reading Assessment for Children

The Computerized Reading-related Assessment Battery (CRAB) establishes a new paradigm for early literacy evaluation by integrating linguistic and cognitive testing into a unified, gamified digital environment. Designed for second-grade students, the system aims to replace fragmented, traditional testing methods with a cohesive, child-centered framework that maintains rigorous psychometric standards. By separating core task performance from narrative-driven game elements, the battery ensures that engagement does not compromise the validity of the data collected, providing a scalable solution for school-based assessments.

Validation efforts involving 310 students across France and Italy confirm the high feasibility of this approach, with task completion rates consistently ranging between 93% and 99.7%. The assessment demonstrates strong internal coherence across its multidomain structure and shows significant correlations between digital performance metrics and teacher-rated academic achievement. These results suggest that the platform effectively captures a comprehensive profile of a child’s literacy development while remaining accessible regardless of the student's prior device familiarity.

While the current framework successfully supports autonomous use and high levels of user satisfaction, the research highlights the necessity of ongoing technical refinement. Specifically, the integration of advanced automatic speech recognition remains a critical area for improvement to ensure reliability during high-load verbal tasks. By grounding its methodology in established cognitive load theory and human-computer interaction principles, the project provides a robust, scalable model for longitudinal tracking and early literacy intervention, ultimately demonstrating that gamification can serve as a reliable vehicle for high-stakes educational assessment.