Creativity predicts standardized educational outcomes beyond GPA and personality
Date
2025
Authors
Kapoor, H.
Patston, T.
Cropley, D.H.
Rezaei, S.
Kaufman, J.C.
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Journal article
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Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2025; 56(101751):1-12
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Abstract
Despite popular stereotypes about schools killing creativity, most scholarship on academic achievement and creativity shows a positive relationship. The present study is an extension and conceptual replication of Kaufman et al. (2023) using the Australian National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), including literacy and numeracy scores from Australian student participants (Ns = 212 to 637, across analyzes). Using hierarchical regressions, we examined whether GPA, personality, self-reported creativity, intellectual risk-taking (IRT), divergent thinking flexibility, and verbal/math creativity predicted NAPLAN literacy/numeracy standardized scores. The addition of creativity-related variables (higher flexibility) explained an additional 7.5 % variance in NAPLAN literacy scores above GPA and personality, whereas an additional 9.2 % of variance was explained in NAPLAN numeracy scores by creativity-related variables (lower IRT but higher math creativity). These findings support the notion that performance on standardized educational tests is benefitted by student creativity; suggestions for future research with different standardized tests and creativity assessments, across cultures, are provided.
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Copyright 2025 Elsevier
Access Condition Notes: Accepted manuscript available after 01 January 2026