Table 7 Descriptions of variables: coding, source, type, original name

Dependent variable

 STEM major

Whether a student's undergraduate degree field is a STEM major or not (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

HSLS2009 Second Follow-up Student Survey

Dichotomous variable

X4RFDGMJSTEM

 STEM major cluster

X4 Reference degree major—all and baccalaureate categories (1 = Non-STEM: General studies and other, Humanities, Business, Education, and Other applied; 2 = Computer/Engineering Sciences: Computer and information sciences and/or Engineering and engineering technology; 3 = Social/Behavioral, Natural, and Other sciences: Biological and physical Sciences, Science technologies, Mathematics, Agriculture, Social Sciences, and Health care fields)

HSLS2009 Second Follow-up Student Survey

Categorical

X4RFDGMJ14Y, which like X4RFDGMJSTEM above uses “X4REFDEG” reference degree identifier as the source, indicating the undergraduate degree or certificate the respondent was working on when last enrolled, as of February 2016

Independent variables

 Gender

  Male

Whether a student’s biological sex is male (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

HSLS2009 Base Year Student Survey

Dichotomous variable

X1SEX

 Race/ethnicity

  Race

Whether a student identifies as White (1; reference), Asian (2), Black/African American (3), Latina/o/x (4), or Other identity, including multiple non-Hispanic groups (5)

HSLS2009 Base Year Student Survey

Categorical variable

X1RACE

 Family characteristics

  Parental education

Whether at least one of a student’s parents has a 4-year college degree (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

HSLS2009 Base Year Parents Survey

Dichotomous variable

X1PAREDU

  Father’s occupation

Whether a student’s father’s job is a STEM job (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

Dichotomous variable

X1DADOCC_STEM1

  Mother’s occupation

Whether a student’s mother’s job is a STEM job (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

Dichotomous Variable

X1MOMOCC_STEM1

  Family income

X1 Total family income from all sources 2008 (1 = Family income less than or equal to $15,000; 13 = Family income > $235,000, with $20,000 range increments between 1 and 13)

Categorical variable

X1FAMINCOME

 School characteristics

  Public (Reference Group)

Whether a student's high school is a public school (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

Common Core of Data 2005–06/Private School Survey 2005–06

Dichotomous variable

X1CONTROL

  Catholic

Whether a student’s high school is a catholic school (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

Dichotomous variable

  Other Private

Whether a student’s high school is another private school (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

Dichotomous variable

  Urbanicity

Whether a student's high school is in a city (1; reference), suburb (2), town (3), or rural area (4)

Categorical variable

X1LOCALE

 College characteristics

  Two-year college

College Type: 1st Attended where 0 = 4-year and 1 = 2-year or less

2nd Follow-up, Student Survey, 2016

Dichotomous variable

X4PS1SECTOR

 Math-related characteristics

  Perceived math ability

Student’s perceived math ability, which is measured by seven items using Cronbach’s alpha

HSLS2009 Base Year/2013 Update Student Survey

Continuous variable

S1MPERSON1, S1MPERSON2, S1MUNDERST, S1MTESTS, S1MTEXTBOOK, S1MSKILLS, S1MASSEXCL

  Math observed ability (GPA)

Students’ high school math course GPA

Continuous variable

X3TGPAMAT

  Mathematics course completion (HS)

X3 Highest level mathematics course taken/pipeline (0 = Algebra 1 or lower; 1 = Geometry, Algebra II, or Trigonometry; 2 = Advanced Math including Calculus)

Ordinal variable

X3THIMATH

 Math interests

Student's math interests, which is measured by three items using Cronbach's alpha

Continuous variable

S1MENJOYING, S1MWASTE, S1MBORING

  Math teacher

How a student feels about their math teacher, which is measured by nine items using Cronbach's alpha

Continuous variable

S1MTCHVALUES, S1MTCHRESPCT, S1MTCHFAIR, S1MTCHCONF, S1MTCHMISTKE, S1MTCHTREAT, S1MTCHINTRST, S1MTCHMFDIFF, S1MTCHEASY

 Science-related characteristics

  Perceived science ability

Student’s perceived science ability, measured by seven items using Cronbach’s alpha

HSLS2009 Base Year/2013 Update Student Survey

Continuous variable

S1SPERSON1, S1SPERSON2, S1SUNDERST, S1STESTS, S1STEXTBOOK, S1SSKILLS, S1SASSEXCL

  Science observed ability (GPA)

Students’ science school course GPA

Continuous variable

X3TGPASCI

  Physics course completion (HS)

X3 Highest level physics course taken/pipeline (0 = No Physics, 1 = General Physics, 2 = Specialty, Advanced, or AP/IB Physics)

Ordinal variable

X3THIPHY

  Science interests

Student’s science interests, measured by three items using Cronbach's alpha

Continuous variable

S1SENJOYING, S1SWASTE, S1SBORING

  Science teacher

How a student feels about their science teacher, which is measured by 9 items using Cronbach’s alpha

Continuous variable

S1STCHVALUES, S1STCHRESPCT, S1STCHFAIR, S1STCHCONF, S1STCHMISTKE, S1STCHTREAT, S1STCHINTRST, S1STCHMFDIFF, S1STCHEASY