Characterization of STEM-Motivated High School Students: Focusing on Intelligence, Mathematical Competencies, and Creativity

Lior Miller Markovitz; Gad M. Landau; Roza Leikin

doi:10.1177/01623532251372602

Characterization of STEM-Motivated High School Students: Focusing on Intelligence, Mathematical Competencies, and Creativity

Lior Miller Markovitz, Gad M. Landau, Roza Leikin

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This study examined characteristics of 458 Grade 10 students who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science while completing their secondary school studies. Cluster analysis of SAT-M and Raven Progressive Matrices Test scores identified four distinct groups: G-EM: generally gifted, excelling in mathematics; AG-AEM: averagely gifted, average mathematical excellence; AG-NEM: averagely gifted, non-excelling in mathematics; NG-AEM: not generally gifted, average mathematical excellence. The G-EM group demonstrated significantly higher general and mathematical creativity compared to all other groups. Post-hoc analysis revealed cluster-dependent and task-dependent correlations between measured criteria. Results suggest creativity levels could serve as an effective criterion for program enrollment decisions.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	382-403
Number of pages	22
Journal	Journal for the Education of the Gifted
Volume	48
Issue number	4 Special Issue: International Research Perspectives on Talen...
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/01623532251372602
State	Published - 1 Sep 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Keywords

STEM
computer science
general creativity
general giftedness
mathematical competencies
mathematical creativity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education

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10.1177/01623532251372602

Cite this

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abstract = "This study examined characteristics of 458 Grade 10 students who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science while completing their secondary school studies. Cluster analysis of SAT-M and Raven Progressive Matrices Test scores identified four distinct groups: G-EM: generally gifted, excelling in mathematics; AG-AEM: averagely gifted, average mathematical excellence; AG-NEM: averagely gifted, non-excelling in mathematics; NG-AEM: not generally gifted, average mathematical excellence. The G-EM group demonstrated significantly higher general and mathematical creativity compared to all other groups. Post-hoc analysis revealed cluster-dependent and task-dependent correlations between measured criteria. Results suggest creativity levels could serve as an effective criterion for program enrollment decisions.",

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Characterization of STEM-Motivated High School Students: Focusing on Intelligence, Mathematical Competencies, and Creativity. / Miller Markovitz, Lior; Landau, Gad M.; Leikin, Roza.
In: Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Vol. 48, No. 4 Special Issue: International Research Perspectives on Talen..., 01.09.2025, p. 382-403.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Characterization of STEM-Motivated High School Students: Focusing on Intelligence, Mathematical Competencies, and Creativity

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

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