The seventh-grade slump is moderated by DT test, task content domain, and gender, with larger drops for WKCT, figural tasks, and a higher proportion of males¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r2–r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? For the Grade 6–7 difference, figural tasks showed a significant negative SMD (-0.30, p = .003) versus a non-significant negative SMD for verbal tasks (-0.14, p = .15); no standardized effect size is printed for the moderation itself. → Said-Metwaly 2019 q3 i? A larger proportion of males was associated with a larger negative Grade 6–7 SMD (B = -0.002, p = .02) for overall DT, and this gender moderation held across fluency, flexibility, and originality. → Said-Metwaly 2019 (2)

Evidence¶

Said-Metwaly 2019¶

Said-Metwaly, S., Fernández-Castilla, B., Kyndt, E., Van den Noortgate, W., & Barbot, B. (2019). Does the Fourth-Grade Slump in Creativity Actually Exist? A Meta-Analysis of the Development of Divergent Thinking in School-Age Children and Adolescents. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Does+the+Fourth-Grade+Slump+in+Creativity+Actually+Exist

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

Post-hoc moderator analysis in Results of the Grade 6–7 overall DT difference found task content domain significant, explaining 65.61% of between-study variance; figural tasks showed the larger significant drop (-0.30, p = .003). No standardized effect size is printed for the moderation itself.

"For task content domain, a significant negative SMD was obtained when using figural tasks (-0.30, p = .003) compared to a non-significant negative SMD when using verbal tasks (-0.14, p = .15)."

Said-Metwaly 2019 (2)¶

Said-Metwaly, S., Fernández-Castilla, B., Kyndt, E., Van den Noortgate, W., & Barbot, B. (2019). Does the Fourth-Grade Slump in Creativity Actually Exist? A Meta-Analysis of the Development of Divergent Thinking in School-Age Children and Adolescents. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Does+the+Fourth-Grade+Slump+in+Creativity+Actually+Exist

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

Post-hoc moderator analysis in Results found gender significant for the Grade 6–7 overall DT difference; the printed B = -0.002 is an unstandardized coefficient, so no effect size is coded. The authors note the gender effect was robust across all three DT indicators.

"For gender, a larger proportion of males was associated with a larger negative SMD (B = -0.002, p = .02). Gender explained 28.61% of the between-study variance and 59.51% of the within-study variance for the overall analysis."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Creativity — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Task content domain significantly moderates the Grade 3–4 DT difference, with a positive SMD for figural tasks and a negative SMD for verbal tasks — related
• Divergent thinking shows an overall upward developmental trend across Grades 1–12, peaking in Grade 9, with significant drops in Grades 7, 10, and 11 — related
• A seventh-grade slump in divergent thinking is observed at the overall and indicator level — related
• DT test and country of study significantly moderate the Grade 3–4 originality trend, with a drop for WKCT and for eastern-country samples — related
• A recent large-scale meta-analysis failed to find convincing evidence of developmental slumps in children's divergent thinking — related