Test preparation is a hot topic with teachers and parents because the costs of student failure seem huge. So it seems to be a good time to write about test preparation and our Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) – Thinking Creatively with Pictures and Thinking Creatively with Words.
The immediate question is – should we prepare students to take a creativity test? The author of the TTCT, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, believed the answer was no because test prep may help students achieve entrance into a creative class or gifted program, but preparation could not increase a student’s creativity or determine how creative they can be.
We also believe that students should not be “prepped” prior to taking the TTCT for three reasons.
(1) One of the features of test preparation is that students often learn about how to take a test without increasing their ability to master test content. As a result, students who participated in test prep courses might receive spuriously high test scores that will cause them to be misplaced in a program for which they are not well-suited.
(2) The TTCT is a standardized test. Standardized test situations are prescribed so that all students taking the tests have the same opportunity. In other words, all students should be seeing the test for the first time, and they should all be prepared to do their best without any extra pretest help. On the TTCT, “doing their best” requires focusing on showing the examiner something creative that has never been seen or thought of before. When standardized testing is completed, prescriptive and diagnostic teaching should be used as a means to follow-up with students. In fact, we believe that any standardized test scores should be followed up with explanation and more directed teaching.
(3) When people ask us for test prep materials, we suggest that students and parents review the student’s current test scores and identify areas for improvement. Based on this review, students can focus on acquiring educational materials that will help them succeed in areas where they currently struggle. This kind of preparation will help students become better students not just better test-takers.
For more information on the TTCT, visit our website www.ststesting.com.
Related:
Books by E. Paul Torrance and Torrance Scholars
- Learning and Using Primes, Fractions, and Decimals Creatively
- Learning to Use Place Value Creatively
- Learning to Solve Mathematics Word Problems Creatively
- The Future of Creativity
- Gifted and Talented Children in the Regular Classroom
- E. Paul Torrance, “The Creativity Man” an authorized biography
- Everyday Creativity
Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. 