The Psychometric Properties of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking Figural Form A

Abstract

The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking Figural Forms A and B are widely used to measure creative
potential. Despite their common application in research, there has been a lack of focus on the
psychometric properties of the tests. Thus, the scoring of the items is based on some unexamined
hypotheses. The items are hypothesized to be equally difficult, and the response categories are
hypothesized to be equally distributed. Additionally, it is hypothesized that the items measure a single
cognitive factor for each creative thinking skill and that each creative thinking skill is a different
cognitive factor. Given the impact of these hypotheses on the validity of the test scores, it is crucial to
investigate these four hypotheses. In the present study, Rasch-based analyses and correlation analyses
were conducted to examine all these hypotheses for Form A. The data were collected from 157
second-grade students in Turkey. The findings showed that a) the items were equally difficult for only
elaboration, internal visualization, and humor; b) the response categories were equally distributed for
only resistance to premature closure and elaboration; c) the items measured a single cognitive factor
for each creative thinking skill; and d) certain creative thinking skills were highly correlated (r ≥ .90).
Overall, the items in Form A possess sufficient quality for assessing the majority of the creative
thinking skills. Nevertheless, some revisions to the scoring of the items may be needed.