In 2022, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) included an assessment of creative thinking for the first time. It was designed to measure students' abilities to generate diverse and creative ideas, evaluate and improve upon ideas, and apply creative thinking skills across different contexts.

This report contains student performance and proficiency data for 15-year-old students across 64 participating countries and explores the relationship between performance and socioeconomic, geographic and cultural factors. 

The report analyses creative thinking in relation to background factors including gender, socioeconomic background, geographic location, Indigenous background, immigrant background, and language spoken at home. It also looks at social constructs around creativity by investigating the perspectives of teachers and principals. 

Key findings

• Significant variations exist in creative thinking performance between countries. 
• Singapore had the highest mean score, followed by Korea, Canada, and Australia. 
• Within Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) had the highest mean score, while Queensland had the lowest.
• Students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds consistently outperformed those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Students in major cities performed better than those in regional areas and remote areas. 
• Indigenous students and those speaking a language other than English at home scored lower in creative thinking.
• Students with a perception of a more creative school and class environment tended to perform better in creative thinking. 
• Teacher and principal beliefs and practices related to creative thinking correlate with student performance.