Abstract:
This study examines the critical intersection between emotional well-being, educational assessment, and
future workforce development in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s educational system serves as the primary
pipeline for developing human capital necessary for economic advancement, with standardized testing
mechanisms like the Unified National Testing (UNT) functioning as gateway mechanisms determining
access to higher education and subsequent labor market opportunities. With Generation Z students
(born 1997-2012) currently comprising the majority of test-takers, their psychological readiness for
assessment directly impacts Kazakhstan’s future workforce composition, sectoral distribution, and
economic competitiveness. This research addresses critical gaps in understanding psychological factors
affecting standardized testing performance within Kazakhstan’s unique educational and cultural context
during 2022-2023, with particular focus on the high-stakes Unified National Testing (UNT) system.
A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed, collecting data from 1,247 students across
28 schools in 14 regions of Kazakhstan. Quantitative instruments included the Student Emotional Well-being
Inventory and Assessment Readiness Profile.
We found out significant correlations emerged between emotional well-being and assessment
performance. Students with higher emotional well-being demonstrated 34% greater resilience to test
anxiety and 28% improved performance on standardized assessments. Contrary to expectations,
rural students showed higher anxiety management capacity than urban students. Structural equation
modeling identified self-efficacy as the primary mediator between emotional well-being and assessment
outcomes.
The findings revealed concerning longitudinal patterns with emotional well-being declining throughout
the academic year despite improvements in assessment readiness. Intervention analysis demonstrated
that cognitive-behavioral techniques and integrated approaches were most effective for enhancing
emotional well-being and assessment readiness. Regional variations persisted even after controlling
for socioeconomic factors, suggesting geographical location represents an independent influence on
assessment-related psychological factors.
This research provides the first comprehensive empirical investigation of emotional well-being’s role in
assessment readiness within Kazakhstan’s educational system, introducing a novel conceptual framework
that integrates psychological, institutional, and regional factors to explain assessment outcomes. The
identification of rural protective factors challenges conventional assumptions about educational resource
distribution.
