Diagnostics of creativity in the contemporary education

At the moment the studies of creativity in the context of creative activity of a person are becoming ever more relevant. In the definitions presented by prominent psychologists (P. Torrens, E. Fromm, D. Simpson), the concept of “creativity” is associated with such personality traits as the ability to give up stereotypes in thinking, to wonder and to find solutions in unusual situations. J. Guilford distinguished six parameters that constitute the nature of creativity: ability to state a problem, to generate a large number of ideas, to improve an object, to resolve unusual issues, flexibility and originality. The system of appraisal of imagination, associative and critical thinking that is prevalent in educational institutions cannot provide a proper testing of the creativity development level of teenage students. Among the techniques most suitable for this purpose, the author refers to the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (involves assessment of four parameters: fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration); methodology for creative field evaluation by Bogoyavlenskaya; S. Mednick’s test revealing the verbal creativity level. Timely diagnosis of the creativity level allows to predict and develop properly the potential of students.