Coming to Schools: Creativity Indexes

At a time when U.S. political and business leaders are raising concerns about the need to better nurture creativity and innovative thinking among young people, several states are exploring the development of an index that would gauge the extent to which schools provide opportunities to foster those qualities.

In Massachusetts, a new state commission began meeting last fall to draft recommendations for such an index for all public schools, in response to a legislative requirement. Meanwhile, a California Senate panel last month approved a bill calling for the development of a voluntary Creative and Innovative Education Index. And Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin recently announced plans for a public-private partnership to produce the Oklahoma Innovative Index for schools, which she described as a "public measurement of the opportunities for our students to engage in innovative work."

Gov. Fallin couched the plan squarely in an economic context to advance the state's competitiveness and prepare young people for the workforce. The index, the Republican said, would prove a "very valuable tool to help Oklahoma be a national leader in innovation,...