Assessing creativity : four critical issues

Creative assessment tasks provide learners with unique learning experiences. Creative pursuits can be assessed formatively and summatively through a range of assessable instruments. This chapter engages in a review of literature around four critical issues relating to creative assessment tasks. As a researcher situated in Australia, the findings of this chapter are situated within a western schooling framework, in which the curriculum is divided along subjects and developmental stages. As I conduct research in Dance, Drama and Music education, a lot of my findings are drawn from the world of the Arts, describing assessment tasks used in schooling to demonstrate artistry. However, I hope the provocations contained in this chapter can be applied to other areas of the curriculum. Firstly, this chapter outlines the many challenges associated with creative tasks. The critical components of creative assessment tasks, as identified in literature, will be discussed, followed by an exploration of accompanying criteria used to make judgements on the quality of learners’ work. Finally, nature of quantifiable judgements in the creative learning environment will be discussed. This chapter cites several examples of creative assessment tasks used in schooling, including drama performances, music compositions, choreographic tasks, design work and creative writing. These are not definitive examples of creative tasks, but they illustrate the ways in which creativity can be harnessed while producing quantifiable outcomes.