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Abstract Purpose of the study Previous literature has examined the relationship between high school students’ postsecondary STEM major choices and their prior interest and perceived ability in mathematics. Yet, we have limited understanding of whether and how perceived ability and interest in science and mathematics jointly affect students’ STEM major choices. Results Using the most recent nationally representative longitudinal cohort of U.S. secondary school students, we examine the degree to which students’ perceived mathematical and scientific abilities and interests predict their STEM major choices, employing logistic regression and a series of interaction analyses. We find that while both mathematics and science perceived ability positively influence STEM major selection, academic interest in these subjects is a weaker predictor. Moreover, across a series of analyses, we observe a significant gender gap—whereby women are less than half as likely to select STEM majors—as well as nuanced distinctions by self-identified race. The relationships among perceived ability, interest, and STEM major choice are not found to meaningfully vary by race nor consistently by gender. However, perceived ability has a more positive effect for men than women who are pursuing Computing/Engineering majors and a more positive effect for women than men who are pursuing other STEM majors, including less applied Social/Behavioral, Natural, and Other Sciences. Implications These findings suggest potential opportunities to enhance their perceived mathematical and scientific abilities in high school, positioning them to potentially enter STEM fields. School sites with more resources to support the ambitions of STEM students of all backgrounds may be better positioned to reduce postsecondary disparities in STEM fields. Given existing opportunity gaps and resource differentials among schools, corresponding recommendations are suggested. 

To sustain the higher education industry and address U.S. economic downturns, researchers must prioritize research on undergraduates aged 24 or above – contemporary students. This empirical study finds contemporary students have lower chances of attaining degrees—any degrees—than their younger peers. Using nationally representative U.S. data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Study, our interaction models reveal that the penalty experienced by contemporary-age students is more significant at four-year colleges where older students are less than half as likely to attain degrees as their younger peers. Transferring also distinctly and positively enhances the predicted probability of degree attainment for contemporary-age students (p < .000), reducing the age penalty. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing contemporary students in research and practice to increase degree attainment. We close with implications for practice, policy, and research. 

In this research paper, we explore the relationship between undergraduate students’ engineering identity development and their experiences before and during a materials science REU summer internship program. Insufficient diversity in engineering—and STEM fields overall—may impede scientific advancement and stifle innovation [1]. Yet, people of color and women remain highly underrepresented in engineering. According to the National Center for Education Statistics [2], there have been slight increases between 1998 and 2018 in the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to women (from 18.6% to 22.2%) and to Latino citizens and permanent residents (from 6.8% to 10.9%). Meanwhile, the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black U.S. citizens and permanent residents decreased from 5% in 1998 to 3.9% in 2018. This entrenched underrepresentation suggests a persistent and systemic problem remains in engineering, as demonstrated in other recent studies [3], [4]. Accordingly, our research examines the experiences of students participating in a broadening participation intervention while attending to their prior experiences in engineering and how their postsecondary experiences in and beyond the intervention shape their engineering identity development. 

Is there a relationship between mathematics ability beliefs and STEM degrees? Fields such as physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC) are thought to require talent or brilliance. However, the potential effects of difficulty perceptions on students’ participation in STEM have yet to be examined using a gender and race/ethnicity intersectional lens. Using nationally representative U.S. longitudinal data, we measure gender and racial/ethnic variation in secondary students’ orientation towards mathematics difficulty. We observed nuanced relationships between mathematics difficulty orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and PEMC major and degree outcomes. In secondary school, the gap between boys’ and girls’ mathematics difficulty orientations were wider than gaps between White and non-White students. Mathematics difficulty orientation was positively associated with both declaring majors and earning degrees in PEMC. This relationship varied more strongly based on gender than race/ethnicity. Notably, Black women show higher gains in predicted probability to declare a mathematics-intensive major as compared to all other women, given their mathematics difficulty orientations. This study’s findings show that both gender and racial/ethnic identities may influence the relationship between mathematics difficulty orientation and postsecondary STEM outcomes.