A gamified approach to automated assessment of programming assignments

Abstract

Tools delivering assessment, and feedback, for students’ programming assignments are important in computer science education. Approaches range from the static analysis of program correctness, to testing-based evaluation, through the application in frameworks of competitive programming. In this paper we describe a testing-based approach, provided in a gamified web-based environment. Students provide their solutions to assignments; such solutions are tested and graded, and their quality contributes to the contents of the student’s profile, where experience points, medals on assignments, assignment categories badges, and overall status allow students to monitor their achievements and have engagement and motivation increasing. Being at this time not possible a formal experimentation of the system, we provide an analysis of its actual capability of tracing students behavior and progresses.