How to Take a Creativity Test

Creativity testing is becoming increasingly common not only as a component of IQ testing or gifted testing for children, but also as a career assessment for entering certain work environments. Before taking a creativity test, it's a good idea to look into the types of creativity tests that exist, take some sample tests online and then contact an educational psychologist for more information.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Know why you will need to be taking a creativity test. If the creativity test is for a child entering a selective school or being assessed for a gifted program, the test will be one of several commonly used full-length creativity tests, but if you are taking a creativity test for a new job emphasizing creative approaches, it will probably be less standard and include questions about workplace creativity scenarios.

2. Become familiar with the different types of creativity testing. There are dozens of ways to test creativity, but most good tests will incorporate multiple methods of evaluation.

3. Practice association methods in which you think of all of the possible uses for a single item (for example, a 2-liter plastic bottle). In a creativity test, responses would be evaluated for quantity, originality and depth of response.

4. Practice verbal methods of assessing creativity. One of the most common verbal assessments is to have two or three words to which another word may be added. For example, "base", "snow" and "meat" can all be followed by the word "ball."

5. Practice spatial creativity. Spatial tests may require the manipulation of object on a spatial plane, but one of the most common creativity tests requires that the tester use given lines and shapes to draw a larger picture, incorporating the given shapes into a new space.

6. Determine if a standard creativity test is needed. If you are testing a child, find out any regulations on age or type of test that the school board or program follows, and if they would like results from a specific test, such as the Torrence test, one commonly used creativity test for children over age 5.

7. Contact an educational psychologist for access to larger, more standard tests. While you can find practice tests, example tests and informal tests of creativity online, you will most likely need to meet with an educational psychologist to arrange a testing using one of the more common full-length tests. There will be a separate fee to purchase the test itself, which may vary depending on if the psychologist needs to conduct an interview as part of the test.

Resources

• Take one creativity test emphasizing associative flexibility.
• Find three examples of common creativity assessment questions and their responses.
• Look at the questions and responses to an example of a common creativity test.
• Learn about FAQs for giftedness, IQ and creativity.