From multiple choice to multiple response

Think of as many uses as you can for a paperclip. The request may seem basic - much easier than, say, a logic- or analysis-based question on the SAT. But creative, open-ended questions like this one reveal information just as telling as whether a college applicant can decipher questions like, "There are 75 more women than men enrolled in Linden College. If there are n men enrolled, then, in terms of n, what percent of those enrolled are men?"

With 18.4 million students estimated to have been enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities last fall - up from 13.5 million attendees two decades ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau - the college admissions process has become much more rigorous and competitive. Naturally, standards have raised for test scores and grade point average (GPA) in the admissions process — colleges must determine whether a student's academic performance indicates an ability to succeed in an academically demanding environment.

The problem is, when thousands of applicants take a nearly identical level of rigor in classes and have similar GPAs, separating one student from another becomes splitting hairs. Another comparison factor is needed, and Malcolm Gladwell has the solution. In his 2008 book, Outliers: the Story of Success, the noted journalist and sociologist argues that while intelligence plays a large role in determining long-term success, once a person's IQ surpasses a certain threshold, extra points do not play a significant role in predicting their ultimate success.

This principle, he writes, should be applied to the college selection process. Rather than scrutinizing 10-point variations in scores, each school should analyze the SAT and designate a reasonable SAT and GPA-based threshold for its applicants based on the college's rigor. All remaining applicants should then be evaluated on a vastly important, often overlooked facet of their character: their creativity.

Right now, the SAT shows what students know, with bubble-in scantrons revealing our supposed knowledge of math and reading comprehension. In other words, standardized tests judge students' mastery of convergent thinking - their ability to choose the one correct answer from several options. What it fails to do, though, is show how we think. And that's where divergent questions enter the mix.

A question should be added to the SAT writing section for admissions committees to directly review that gauges applicants' creative skills. A common measure of divergent thinking, or the ability to create and innovate with little impetus, is asking a person to name as many possible uses for a seemingly mundane object (like a paperclip). This reveals valuable information about their ability to adjust to challenges and think outside the box, skills that are useful in everyday life - practical intelligence.

Some may argue that the recently added SAT writing section encourages divergent thinking. But the prompt is accompanied by a quotation to guide students' thought processes, and the rigid confines of an essay stifle students' creativity. With careful wording, divergent questions provide respondents with the freedom to answer however they see fit, effectively revealing how they think.

Practical intelligence, which goes virtually untested in most college applications, plays a role in an individual's future success in everything from securing faculty oversight for undergraduate research to overcoming obstacles in one's chosen career. In an increasingly competitive college admissions environment, gathering information on applicants' divergent thinking would help colleges make more informed and thoughtful decisions. It's time for admissions officers to pause, set aside their SAT and GPA stats and pick up a paperclip instead.

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