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Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Built on What Students
Actually Need

Paper titled "What Do Students Need from Mobile Learning Platforms for High-Stakes Examination Preparation? An Empirical Study of Sri Lankan Advanced Level Students"
Published at the 9ᵗʰ IEEE International Research Conference on Smart Computing and Systems Engineering (SCSE)
University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2026

135
Students Surveyed
17
Districts Across Sri Lanka
5
Subject Streams

The Problem

Over 160,000 students qualify at the G.C.E. A/L examination each year, yet only approximately 23–26% gain admission to free state universities [1].

Private tutoring constitutes a considerable share of household education budgets [2], raising equity concerns as access to quality preparation resources varies by socioeconomic status and geographic location.

The Opportunity

Sri Lanka has over 32 million mobile connections serving a population of approximately 22 million [3].

The 15–19 age group demonstrates the highest computer literacy rate at approximately 80% nationally [4].

Mobile learning presents a democratizing opportunity – but what should we actually build?

MCQ Practice: Students Say It Matters

79%
rated MCQ practice as
"very important"
94%
rated it important
or very important

In the A/L exam, MCQs account for 50% of the total marks in many subjects. Students know this – and they want tools that help them practise effectively.

What Students Actually Asked For

We used an open-ended question – no predetermined feature lists – and analyzed responses using thematic analysis [6].

1

Answer Explanations

18 mentions

"MCQ sandaha keti vivaranayak thibima." – "A short explanation for MCQs should be there."

Every MCQ has an instant explanation
2

Leaderboards & Rankings

15 mentions

"Rank bala ganna puluwannm godak hodai." – "It would be great if we can check our rank."

Island-wide + district Z-Score leaderboards
3

Progress Tracking

12 mentions

"Dinen dina ape vardhanaya balaganna puluvan akaraye vadak." – "Something where we can see our day-by-day progress."

Per-subject ELO rating with history
4

Competition & Challenges

10 mentions

"Daily challenges vge deyak." – "Something like daily challenges."

Real-time peer MCQ challenges
5

Time Management

8 mentions

"TIME thiyala paper karanna puluvan kama." – "Ability to do papers with a timer set."

Timed challenge mode

From Research to Product

The findings map to Self-Determination Theory [5] – the three psychological needs that drive motivation

Autonomy

Students asked for progress tracking and time management tools

What we built

Per-subject analytics, timed challenges

Competence

Students asked for answer explanations and performance feedback

What we built

Instant explanations, ELO ratings

Relatedness

Students asked for leaderboards, peer challenges, and rankings

What we built

Z-Score leaderboards, multiplayer challenges

What's Next

This needs assessment established the empirical foundation for ALevellers. Empirical evaluation of the platform's impact on student engagement and learning outcomes is planned as future work.

References

  1. [1] University Grants Commission, Sri Lanka, "Sri Lanka University Statistics 2023," University Grants Commission, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tech. Rep., 2024.
  2. [2] A. Pallegedara, "Private tutoring expenditure: An empirical analysis based on Sri Lankan households," Review of Development Economics, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1278–1295, 2018.
  3. [3] S. Kemp, "Digital 2024: Sri Lanka," DataReportal, February 2024.
  4. [4] Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka, "Computer Literacy Statistics – 2023 (First Six Months)," Department of Census and Statistics, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tech. Rep., 2023.
  5. [5] R. M. Ryan and E. L. Deci, "Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being," American Psychologist, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 68–78, 2000.
  6. [6] V. Braun and V. Clarke, "Using thematic analysis in psychology," Qualitative Research in Psychology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 77–101, 2006.

Experience What Students Asked For

Every feature in ALevellers traces back to what students told us they need.

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