STEM identity has two halves, how you see yourself and how others see you, and in the national data the second half is as strong as the first.
What the national data says
44%say it
43%STEM majors if they agreed
31%STEM majors if they disagreed
+12point lift
In 2012 NSF asked eleventh graders whether they agreed with “I see myself as a math person.” 44% did. In 2016, 43% of those who agreed were STEM majors, against 31% of those who disagreed.
Being seen counts as much as seeing it yourself: for “Others see me as a math person.” the figures are 43% and 30%. Test confidence is more common (65% have it) and weaker: 39% against 31%.
In 2012 NSF asked eleventh graders whether they agreed with “I see myself as a science person.” 48% did. In 2016, 46% of those who agreed were STEM majors, against 26% of those who disagreed.
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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.
Questions people ask
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.
Does it cost anything?
No. There is nothing to buy, and no badge, rank or point can be bought. A purchase never fires a trigger.
What do you collect about my child?
A first name or nickname, a role, a language and, if you choose, a county. No email, no last name, no birthday. For a child under 13 the adult signs up and sits beside them.
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.
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).