Creativity and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

This article reports on a meta-analysis of 120 studies (total N = 52,578; 782 effects) examining the relationship between creativity and academic achievement in research conducted since the 1960s. Average correlation between creativity and academic achievement was r = .22, 95% CI [.19, .24]. An analysis of moderators revealed that this relationship was constant across time but stronger when creativity was measured using creativity tests compared to self-report measures and when academic achievement was measured using standardized tests rather than grade point average. Moreover, verbal tests of creativity yielded significantly stronger relationships with academic achievement than figural tests. Theoretical and practical consequences are discussed.