A key tenet of 826’s pedagogy is supporting and growing students’ creativity through the power of writing. Through writing, students practice flexing their creativity muscle: they imagine themselves as superheroes or scientists, create inventive solutions to everyday problems, and engage deeply with new concepts and information.
Research shows that creativity can benefit students in many ways, including by promoting adaptability and problem-solving, building confidence, and creating lifelong learners. And yet, how to assess creativity, particularly in the classroom, remains largely unclear. This report shares 826’s first steps in contributing to this area of research by piloting a creativity assessment using student writing. Our initial results are positive, showing evidence that 826 programs lead to gains in student creativity across three attributes essential to creativity: originality, elaboration, and task appropriateness.