Home › I'm a Math Person › The evidence › I am certain that I can understand the most difficult material presented in math textbooks.
In 2012 NSF asked eleventh graders whether they agreed with “I am certain that I can understand the most difficult material presented in math textbooks.” 53% did. In 2016, 41% of those who agreed were STEM majors, against 32% of those who disagreed.
| Group | Agreed | STEM major, agreed | STEM major, disagreed | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 53% | 41% | 32% | +9 |
| Male | 57% | 44% | 31% | +13 |
| Female | 49% | 38% | 32% | +6 |
| White | 52% | 42% | 31% | +11 |
| Black | 59% | 35% | 35% | +0 |
| Hispanic | 53% | 41% | 31% | +10 |
| Asian | 58% | 55% | 45% | +10 |
| Other or two or more races | 51% | 37% | 27% | +10 |
Start here: one problem
A first name or nickname is all we ask for. No email, no last name, no birthday. For a child under 13, a parent or teacher signs up and sits beside them.
How it works
- Prove it. Pick a level from 1 to 5 and solve one problem. The server grades it. A wrong answer costs nothing and nobody sees it; the next problem is new.
- Get seen. You get a link. Send it to someone who has watched you work: a parent, a teacher, a coach, a friend. They open it, see your proof, and say “I see a math person.”
- Claim it. After a proof and a witness, the sentence is yours to say, and the badge with it.
- Pass it on. Everyone who opens your link is invited to prove their own. Each one who does is on your chain, and their chain is on yours.
Statement (2012)
I see myself as a math person.Others see me as a math person.I am confident in my ability to do an excellent job on math tests.I am certain that I can master math skills.I am confident in my ability to do an excellent job on math assignments.I see myself as a science person.Others see me as a science person.I am confident in my ability to do an excellent job on science tests.I am certain that I can understand the most difficult material presented in science textbooks.I am certain that I can master science skills.I am confident in my ability to do an excellent job on science assignments.
Questions people ask
Where do the numbers come from?
NSF's High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, published in Science and Engineering Indicators (NSB-2021-1), tables SK12-27, SK12-28 and K12-5.
Why can't I claim it right away?
Because in the national data a claim with nothing behind it does not move anything. Here the claim unlocks after one graded proof and one witness, so the sentence means what it says.
Sources. National figures are from the National Science Board and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Elementary and Secondary STEM Education (NSB-2021-1): special tabulations of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, tables SK12-28, SK12-27 and K12-5. The study shows that the identity came first and the major followed; it was not an experiment. This campaign asks its members the same four identity questions every 30 days so its own results can be set beside the national ones. County economic types are USDA Economic Research Service County Typology Codes (2025); labor markets are Census commuting zones (2020).