Exploring creativity in mathematics assessment: An analysis of standardized tests

•The findings of this paper are significant because they reveal the potential of the two standardized tests (i.e., PARCC and SBAC) in the U.S. to include creativity-directed tasks.•This study revealed that two commonly used standardized national tests offer students some opportunities to exhibit their creative thinking skills by incorporating creativity-directed problems (e.g., multiple solution tasks) in their assessments. However, not all creativity-directed tasks are present at every grade level.•This study produced a framework for evaluating assessment materials in mathematics for creativity.•This study underscores the importance of assessment materials in fostering students’ creative thinking skills in mathematics, as assessments significantly influence teachers’ instructional practices and curriculum materials.•Creativity could be a contributing factor to the misalignment between the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) and instructional practices. This paper aims to investigate whether US standardized tests provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their creative thinking abilities through the inclusion of creativity-directed problems in their mathematics assessments. Our results indicated that two commonly used standardized national tests (i.e., PARCC and SBAC) do offer students some opportunities to exhibit their creative thinking skills by incorporating creativity-directed problems (e.g., multiple solution tasks) in their assessments. However, not all creativity-directed tasks are present at every grade level. The findings of this paper are significant not only because they reveal the potential of these tests to include creativity-directed tasks but also because they underscore the importance of assessment materials in fostering students’ creative thinking skills in mathematics, as assessments significantly influence teachers’ instructional practices and curriculum materials.