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Observations show strong student engagement and requests for more levels, while aggregated submission data reveals significant engagement differences by competency level, informing potential pedagogy 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Polsley, University of Nebraska-Lincoln  \nSeth Polsley is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management and the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He teaches the core data science curriculum for the Raikes School, as well as general department- and college-level courses focused on teaching AI technologies to students across the university. Coming from Texas A&M University, where he earned a PhD in Computer Engineering, and the University of Kansas, where he earned his BS in Computer Engineering, his interests span human-computer interaction and educational technologies to brain-computer interfaces and speech systems. He is open to exploring any technologies that may be applied to assisting humans in their learning, development, as well as daily interactions.  \nDevadarshan Pushkaran, University of Nebraska-Lincoln  \nZohaib Shaikh, University of Nebraska-Lincoln  \n©American Society for Engineering Education, 2026  \nA Gamified Multi-Format Assessment for  \nHigh School Programming Camps  \nSummer camps offer valuable opportunities for broadening participation in computing, connecting institutions with communities while helping students explore new ideas and learn. For instance, high school computer science camps focused on skill development can better prepare students for technical degrees, yet organizers of large multi-section camps face a specific challenge: how to place students in the right section.  \nOur coding camp at a large midwestern university faced this issue with two sections: a Java portion for beginners and a Python portion for intermediate data science applications requiring AP CSA-level knowledge. Placement based purely on AP course completion may struggle to capture true programming ability, but the students themselves are generally unequipped to judge their own readiness. If a student is initially placed in a misaligned section for their coding competency level, that student can begin to have a very negative experience, either becoming bored or falling rapidly behind, but there is no easy remediation by offering switching sections as few students would choose to draw any attention or leave a new potential friend group.  \nWe developed “Ricky Robot’s Journey Home,” a multi-format gamified assessment and learning tool to evaluate programming concepts through both paper and digital experiences. The activity follows Ricky the Robot’s story after his spaceship crashes. First, students complete paper-based Java tasks (e.g., demonstrating string processing through a ‘signal decoder’ task), aligned with AP CSA outcomes. Then, after a brief Python lecture covering critical concepts and syntax, they transition to an online game where they navigate Ricky through levels to locate ship components. Each component requires implementing Python functions evaluated via unit tests, with sufficient solutions unlocking the path to victory.  \nTo our knowledge, this is the first implementation of a dual-format (paper and digital) gamified assessment for programming skill evaluation in high school summer camps that specifically uses:  \n(1) a unified narrative across both formats,(2) cross-language transfer assessment, and (3) an auto-graded digital platform to support sustained learning. Supporting the value of the narrative and gameplay, qualitative observations indicated that students enjoyed the game so much they requested additional levels to practice advanced concepts. Quantitatively, we aggregated across the paper-based Java assessments and digital-based Python coding interactions (e.g., number of submissions) to explore trends; we found that there is a statistically significant difference in the way students across competency levels engaged with the software, with those exhibiting higher code proficiency being far more willing to try ideas and test often, in","cbCaidUylWJ05IHW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidUylWJ05IHW","pdf",31020300,12,"English","# Introduction\n## The Need for a Summer Camp Assessment\n## The Placement Challenge in Multi-Section Camps\n## The Ricky Robot’s Journey Home Approach\n## Results and Observed Student Engagement","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the camp address with the assessment design?\",\"answer\":\"It addresses how to place students into the right camp section when readiness cannot be reliably judged from AP course completion alone, which can lead to boredom or falling behind.\"},{\"question\":\"How does “Ricky Robot’s Journey Home” use multiple formats?\",\"answer\":\"It combines paper-based Java tasks with an online Python game, following one unified story where students navigate levels and complete Python functions evaluated by unit tests.\"},{\"question\":\"What evidence supports the value of the approach?\",\"answer\":\"Qualitative observations indicate students enjoyed the game and asked for additional levels, and quantitative trends from aggregated submissions show statistically significant engagement differences across competency levels.\"}]","A Gamified Multi-Format Assessment for High School Programming Camps | PDF",1789901424]