The cultivation of top innovative talents under the background of"exam-oriented"teaching is a major issue related to national security and competitiveness and the perfection of education system.Based on the data of SSES2019,it is found that:(1)"Exam-oriented"teaching has a significantly negative impact on the development of students'creativity,and there are differences in the impact of various dimensions of"exam-oriented"teaching on students'creativity.(2)The impact of"exam-oriented"teaching on students'creativity shows differences in students with different levels of creativity.(3)The impact of"exam-oriented"teaching on students'creativity exists at the threshold of family socioeconomic status,that is,the return rate of"ex-am-oriented"teaching on advantaged families is higher,while the negative impact on disadvantaged families is also greater,showing the"Matthew effect"of"the strong become stronger and the weak become weaker".(4)"Exam-oriented"teaching indirectly negatively affects the development of students'creativity by reducing students'uncertainty tolerance,inhibiting their curiosity and skepticism,reducing their internal motivation,and restricting their co-operation ability.It is suggested that we should follow the law of students'creativity development,correct the deviation of"exam-oriented"teaching by op-timizing teaching and management mode,reducing homework burden and perfecting evaluation system.Based on the development level of students,the dif-ferentiated needs of creativity cultivation of bottom students and top students can be satisfied in the classified and ungraded teaching.With family education as the starting point,strengthen school guidance,make up for the creativity gap of students from disadvantaged families,and promote the cultivation of cre-ativity.