To inform the development of gamified assessments, this study explored how students with or at risk for reading difficulties in Grades 6-8 (N = 202) perceived and interacted with a decoding assessment designed with gamification characteristics. Three data sources enhanced the methodological triangulation: observations and scores from testing, surveys of students' perceptions, and focus group discussions with a stratified random sample of students (n = 25). Findings suggest students became immersed in the gamified reading assessment and were motivated by tasks that were challenging but not frustratingly difficult. However, they were dissatisfied with some design features and reported focusing on identifying patterns and gaming strategies rather than on the reading skills being assessed. This suggests students' expectations of gamified assessments might contribute construct irrelevant variance to the instruments.