Assessing Creativity

We can assess creativity—and, in the process, help students become more creative.

Fifth graders were busy writing acrostic poems on small posters. One girl wrote a school spirit poem, with the first letter of each line spelling out the school name: S for "super," N for "nice," and so on. She even drew a picture of a bobcat (pictures were not required) that was a spot-on replication of the school mascot. A boy wrote an acrostic poem with the first letter of each line spelling out his name: A for "agressive" (unfortunately spelled incorrectly); N for "nutty"; and so on. No picture.

So what kind of feedback did the teacher give? Her comments gave students the impression that the girl's poem was perfect and that the boy's poem was not so good, mostly because of that one misspelled word and the fact that his lines sloped downward on the poster.

This assignment was a giant missed opportunity for both students. The girl's work was a skillful replication of things she'd seen before. All the words were simple, the school spirit theme was a common one, and the point of her drawing was to duplicate the school mascot. She needed to know that her work was proficient—but she also needed to be challenged to work with more originality when writing poems. She only received half that feedback.

The boy's work was more original. Although the poem was only five lines long, it gave readers a real sense of who he was—or, at least, how he saw himself. He needed to know that he had used a prescribed format creatively—but he also needed to be challenged to check his spelling and use a ruler to make straight lines of text on posters. He, too, only received half that feedback.

What was missing in the teacher's feedback is easy to diagnose—her criteria for success were too limited—but it's harder to put right. Can creativity be an assessment category? If so, how do you handle it? Surely you wouldn't downgrade the girl's perfectly good poem, beautifully and dutifully written and presented.

Here's how to assess and give feedback about creativity and, in the process, help students become more creative in their work.

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