Utilizing Digitized Game-Based Learning Approach for Students' Interest and Achievement in Grade 7 Mathematics

This study examined the use of digitized game-based learning activities to support Grade 7 students’ interest and mathematics achievement at Demetrio L. Alviola National High School, Bindoy, Negros Oriental, during school year 2025–2026. A quantitative quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a survey component involved 120 learners, consisting of 60 in the control group and 60 in the experimental group. The control group received conventional mathematics instruction, while the experimental group participated in a four-week digitized game-based approach. A 48-item competency test, an adapted 20-item mathematics-interest questionnaire, and a learning-style inventory informed data collection. Frequency, percentage, mean percentage scores, descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon tests, and Mann–Whitney U tests were used for analysis. The experimental group’s overall mathematics mean percentage score increased from 70.11% to 79.13%, compared with 68.20% to 74.55% in the control group. The experimental group’s composite interest rating rose from 3.33 (moderate) to 3.86 (high), with significant pre–post differences reported across all four interest dimensions. However, the between-group difference in learning gains was significant only for the bar-models-and-equations competency (p = .021); the other three competencies showed no significant between-group differences. The reported interest–competence association was nonsignificant (p = .875). The findings support digitized game-based activities as a supplementary strategy for improving students’ mathematics interest, while indicating more limited evidence of advantages in achievement across all targeted competencies.