“I Just Feel the Need to be Good at Something, and that Thing Should be Math”: Acknowledging Asian/Asian American Identity in an Accelerated Mathematics Program

Abstract

The University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP) is a selective, five-year accelerated mathematics program for students in grades 6–12. During the program, students take college mathematics courses on University of Minnesota campuses, starting with algebra and continuing through logic and proofs, linear algebra, and multivariable calculus. The majority of UMTYMP students come from two demographic groups: White and Asian/Asian American. In 2020, we surveyed UMTYMP students to understand the impact of model minority stereotypes (MMS) on Asian/Asian American students, particularly girls, who are labeled as “gifted” and/or “talented.” In this paper, we reveal the preliminary results of this study, discuss their implications, and provide recommendations for addressing the MMS in mathematics programs.

Keywords:

• Asian American
• model minority stereotype
• accelerated programs
• stereotype lift

1. INTRODUCTION

During the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters, we conducted a survey to investigate the experiences of Asian/Asian American students in the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP), an accelerated youth mathematics program in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Asian/Asian American students are very well represented in this program, and our goal with the survey was to collect perspectives from a large group of students to understand the relationship between their ethnic background and experience in the program. What we found was that there was a significant relationship between ethnic background, gender identity, and experience in the program. Prior to this analysis, no work had been done to examine the effects of racial/ethnic identity on students in UMTYMP. Our hope with this work is to further the discussion of intersectionality of ethnicity and gender in this setting.

This study was initially motivated by two of the authors' personal experiences as Asian Americans with terminal degrees in STEM and our interest in identifying the ways in which UMTYMP students were experiencing the model minority stereotype (MMS). However with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and dramatic increase in anti-Asian rhetoric and violent hate crimes [2], we hope to draw attention to the discrimination Asian/Asian American students face in mathematics classrooms and begin work towards making mathematics classrooms more inclusive for this demographic group.

In this paper, we discuss the results of the survey, and ways to acknowledge and support Asian/Asian American girls in mathematics classrooms. In Section 2, we provide an overview of UMTYMP. In Section 3, we provide a background on the MMS which is frequently attributed to Asian/Asian American students. In Sections 4 and 5, we detail the survey methods and results, and their implications for us as math educators. Finally, in Section 6, we outline ideas for future studies related to this topic.

2. SETTING

UMTYMP is an accelerated mathematics program for students in grades 6–12. The program is offered by the School of Mathematics Center for Educational Programs (MathCEP) at three University of Minnesota campuses: Twin Cities, Rochester, and Duluth. It is a five-year program, to which students are admitted if they take and score favorably on a qualifying exam consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions. The qualifying exam is a “specialized aptitude examination built on pre-algebra mathematics knowledge” [14] and aims to test accuracy, understanding, and speed of elementary mathematics. The program consists of two components: the high school component consisting of algebra, geometry, and precalculus topics, and the calculus component consisting of single variable calculus, logic and proofs, linear algebra, and multivariable calculus. Students can join the program at the beginning of either component. Each year over 500 students take the qualifying exam for the algebra course, and around 150 are accepted. They begin algebra in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade. Alternatively, students in grades 8–10 can start in the calculus component if they have finished precalculus outside of the program, and pass a qualifying exam. Only a handful of students join the program each year through the latter route. While the student body consists of middle and high school students, the curriculum is undergraduate-level mathematics, for which the students get college credit.

Our study focused only on students enrolled in the calculus component at the Twin Cities campus. The Twin Cities campus is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Demographic data as of July 1, 2019 shows that 74.2% of Minneapolis residents identified as White, 13.8% Black or African American, 7.5% Asian, 7.0% Hispanic or Latino, and 1.1% Native American or Alaska Native [17]. Data collected from the Office of Institutional Research at the University of Minnesota shows the following demographic data for undergraduates enrolled in the College of Science and Engineering on the Twin Cities campus during the Spring 2021 term: 64.28% self-identified as White, 15.96% Asian, 3.33% Hispanic, 2.62% Black, 0.8% American Indian, and 0.31% Hawaiian [16]. The majority of students attending UMTYMP courses travel from the suburbs of Minneapolis, some traveling at least 30 minutes to get to campus. While racial demographic data is not collected from students upon admittance to the program, data collected from a survey administered to 298 students for this study shows that of the 264 respondents, 66.2% self-identified as Asian/Asian American, 31.5% White/Caucasian, and 0.45% Hispanic/Latinx. See Section 4 for a more detailed description of the UMTYMP student demographics.

While the descriptor “Asian/Asian American” is quite broad, in this paper, we use it to describe students from two subcategories (see e.g., [6]): South Asian, consisting of students who marked South Asian/South Asian American/Desi,¹ and East Asian, consisting of students who marked Chinese/Chinese American, Japanese/ Japanese American, Korean/Korean American or Vietnamese/Vietnamese American. Other Asian identities did not appear in the data we collected. It is important to note that “Asian/Asian American” is not necessarily the term used by students to describe their own identities (see [6]); we analyzed South Asian and East Asian responses separately and found no significant differences on any variables, which suggests that for our present purposes they can be aggregated. It should be further noted that in the data cited above for Minneapolis and the College of Science and Engineering at University of Minnesota, Asian identities other than the ones we have specified may be represented. Finally, we would like to point out that our distinguishing of Asian and Asian American in this descriptor is intentional: we wish to acknowledge the differing experiences and identities within the Asian community. However, for brevity, we will use the abbreviation As/AsAm for the remainder of the paper.

At the time of this study, all courses were virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a typical semester, however, all UMTYMP courses meet once a week on campus for two hours. At the Twin Cities location, class time consists of one hour of lecture followed by a one hour “workshop” in which students work in groups through examples and proofs that were not presented during the lecture component. Students are assigned weekly homework, consisting of a “Professional Problem” which is graded both for mathematical accuracy and clarity of writing. While face time with instructional staff is lower than it is in a typical undergraduate mathematics course, the curriculum is comparable, and often more rigorous. It is evident from the program structure and homework assignments that despite their young age, UMTYMP students are expected to be fairly self-sufficient and independent learners.

Lectures are given by either the director of UMTYMP or by one of three teaching postdocs, whose primary role is to coordinate and teach UMTYMP courses. Workshops are taught by graduate teaching assistants or teaching specialists within the mathematics department. At the time of this study, the UMTYMP instructional staff at the Twin Cities campus consisted of eight White, male instructors, 2 White, female instructors, and 1 South Asian female instructor.

3. LITERATURE REVIEW

Asian Americans in my life seem more lumped together.

– B, UMTYMP Student

Teachers and educators don't understand that Asian students need help…we are just labeled as “smart,” whereas White students are viewed as individuals.

– M, UMTYMP Student

The two quotes above were pulled from a focus group we conducted to hear about the experiences of As/AsAm students in UMTYMP. The feelings described by the students point to their experience with the model minority stereotype (MMS), or the (false) notion that As/AsAms are a minority group in the United States that has “made it” or “overcome” racial oppression.

The term “model minority” was first introduced in 1966 by William Peterson during the Civil Rights Era. In a The New York Times article titled “Success Story: Japanese-American Style,” Peterson argued that a culture that emphasized hard work and family structure allowed Japanese Americans to overcome discrimination and achieve success by American standards. During the same time period, the MMS emerged as a way to suppress the voices of Black Americans speaking out against racial injustice [6] by unfairly comparing them to As/AsAms. The MMS continues to be pervasive today (see e.g., [4,20]), commonly arising in educational settings as the perception of As/AsAm students as gifted, academic whizzes who outperform their peers. There are many facets of the MMS (see e.g., [6]), but we will highlight four facets identified in [19] that are prevalent in a STEM higher educational setting:

• Extremely intelligent: [As/AsAms] are perceived as inherently smarter than other racial groups, especially in mathematics and science.

• Hard working (good work ethic): [As/AsAms] willingly work long hours and are exemplary employees and students.

• Seeking educational prestige: [As/AsAms] see education as the path to success, preferring to study high status professions at elite institutions and attaining high GPAs.

• Uncomplaining about racial issues and problems: [As/AsAms] passively accept racism and discrimination, choosing to be model citizens that [sic] do not complain about inequities [19].

While the MMS appears to be a positive stereotype, it is false and carries many negative implications. The authors of [6,19] point out that it is an example of a hegemonic device [4], or a tool used by a dominant group to divide racial groups: it uses (perceived) As/AsAm success as a justification for blaming other racial groups for being unable to “overcome” systemic oppression. The stereotype places undue pressure on As/AsAm STEM learners to live up to higher expectations, while assuming that they are doing fine and don't need help [18]; however, research has found that As/AsAm students experience higher rates of imposter syndrome than any other racial group [10] and that anxiety and depression among these students goes underdiagnosed (see e.g., [7]). In addition, the MMS “puts Asian students in a racially vulnerable position, where they are both admired and scorned for their success in STEM” [11], again placing undue pressure on them to live up to the expectation of being a “model” [18]. Finally, it assumes that As/AsAm students do not experience racism and discrimination, resulting in feelings of invisibility [11,20].

The MMS has been studied quite extensively in various STEM educational settings, but there is less research focusing on the intersectional identity of As/AsAm girls. In [9], the authors found that “Asian American women performed better on a mathematics task when their ethnic identity was activated, but worse when their gender identity was activated.” On the other hand, As/AsAm girls often face gender-specific discrimination such as colorism² and its effects on academic performance [11], and pressure to get married at a young age [20].

Our study is motivated by the unique positioning of As/AsAm students in UMTYMP as overrepresented in mathematics but members of a racialized minority. We seek to identify gaps in the programmatic support structure that prevails in programs such as UMTYMP that serve large percentages of As/AsAm students. Furthermore, we seek to spotlight the experiences of As/AsAm students, since data about As/AsAms are typically lumped with that of White students, or excluded entirely from research studies [8]. Finally, we initiate a discussion on ways programs such as UMTYMP can create an inclusive environment that acknowledges and supports the As/AsAm identity; we place a particular emphasis on the As/AsAm girls who experience at least two marginalized identities (ethnic and gender).

4. METHODS AND RESULTS

4.1. Methods and Survey Design

Our study consisted of a focus group followed by a large-scale, mixed-methods survey. In February 2020, two of the authors conducted an IRB-approved focus group of As/AsAm UMTYMP students. An invitation was sent to 103 students who self-identified as Asian American/Pacific Islander when they signed up to take the UMTYMP entrance exam. Three students attended the focus group, which lasted about one hour.³ After the focus group, we identified common themes and experiences that emerged and used these themes to design a survey to be administered to all students enrolled in the UMTYMP calculus component. Our goal was to collect information about a large group of students, so the survey was largely quantitative, consisting of 61 Likert scale and 3 free-response questions. As this was the first time UMTYMP students have been surveyed about their racial/ethnic and gender identities, the questions were designed to identify trends. If future follow-up studies are conducted, it would be important to collect more qualitative and narrative data from the students.

In October 2020, the survey was administered to all 298 UMTYMP students in the calculus component; 264 students responded, for a response rate of 89.7%. Several survey items asked for the following demographic data, among others, to enable us to compare the responses of different groups of students. Regarding gender identity, 31.1% of students in the respondent pool identified as female, 65.4% as male, 0.79% as nonbinary, and 0.39% as transgender, with the remaining 2.3% of students either declaring that they prefer not to answer or leaving the question blank. When we designed the survey, we used the terms “male” and “female” since, given that the students were adolescents, it did not feel accurate to ask them to self-identify as “woman/man” or “girl/boy.” However, we would like to acknowledge that terms describing birth sex and gender identity are not interchangeable, and because the conclusions of this paper track gender rather than sex, for the remainder of the paper, we will use the gender terms “girl/boy.”

Regarding ethnicity, 66.2% of respondents identified as As/AsAm, 0.45% as Hispanic/Latinx, and 31.5% as White/Caucasian; 12.0% of respondents ticked more than one box, indicating identification with more than one ethnicity. Following survey administration, based on initial results, we combined the two sub-categories of East Asian and South Asian ethnicity (20.5% and 33.3% of respondents, respectively) into a single As/AsAm category.

We acknowledge that the proportion of respondents that self-identify as As/AsAm is unusually high, but we do not see this fact as any confirmation of the MMS. In fact, racial inequities in analogous accelerated youth programs (e.g., “gifted and talented education” programs) are often noted to be the product of historic and systemic biases in recruitment strategies. Often, this is discussed in the context of historic under-representation among non-As/AsAm students of color [3, 13].

In UMTYMP, the proportion of respondents who self-identify as As/AsAm is considerably higher than the percentage of As/AsAm students in the surrounding communities and schools. In part this appears to be due to recruitment strategies and community social networks. Historically, recruitment for UMTYMP has been passive; information is sent to schools and teachers each year, who pass details on to students and parents. It is likely that the MMS and other racial stereotypes have an influence on whom the teachers choose to invite when advertising the program among students. In addition, the actual choice to take the entrance examination can be highly dependent on word of mouth among students and families. In certain communities and geographic areas, this seems to contribute to the higher percentage of As/AsAm students.

For example, consider Glass Lake (real name withheld), a suburban school district. According to NCES data, Glass Lake has a slightly higher percentage of As/AsAm students than surrounding districts, but still below 15%. Anecdotally, we know many As/AsAm families within the Glass Lake district value UMTYMP very highly, encourage their students to take the entrance exam, and arrange exam preparation courses for their students. We are unaware of any such parent-driven recruitment efforts in other school districts. Many UMTYMP students from the district talk about joining UMTYMP in terms of the overall pressure they feel. For example, in a survey response, one Glass Lake student identified Srinivasa Ramanujan as someone they related to because “he had to work a lot harder than others to prove himself and … had lots of extra pressure from his family.” The results of the Glass Lake community's efforts are noticeable; UMTYMP draws from over 40 school districts and private schools, but a disproportional number of students taking the entrance exam – well over 20% each year – come from the Glass Lake district. Furthermore, a disproportional number of those Glass Lake students (over 80%) self-identify as As/AsAm.

We reiterate that the high proportion of As/AsAm students in UMTYMP should not be seen as confirmation of the MMS. Indeed, the numbers could reflect the pressure As/AsAm students feel to participate in an accelerated program precisely because of the MMS. Regardless, the demographics of the UMTYMP student body provide an opportunity to investigate the impact of the MMS on As/AsAm students in an accelerated program.

We administered 61 Likert scale questions that were designed to measure various aspects of students' relationship with math and the study of math. All responses were answered on a standard 5-point “strongly agree-strongly disagree” scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used in sequence to generate, and then to test, hypotheses about the number and content of underlying constructs in the data. This process yielded a total of 13 aggregated factors, comprising 50 of the scale questions (11 scale questions did not load at an acceptable level onto any factor), and aggregated factor scores were calculated for each of the resulting variables:

1. Math affect

2. Math career relevance

3. Usefulness of math

4. Growth mindset in math

5. Imposter syndrome

6. Math accomplishments recognized

7. Teacher expectations

8. Asking for help

9. Family pressure

10. Comfort with remote learning

11. UMTYMP confidence

12. Test anxiety

13. UMTYMP interest

Many of the individual questions were reverse-coded so that higher values would indicate a “good” or more desirable response, and this coding holds for the aggregated variables as well. For example, values closer to 5 indicate better/more positive math affect, but values closer to 5 indicate less family pressure. For a listing of which survey questions defined each factor, see Appendix.

4.2. Results for Gender Identity

Independent-samples t-tests were used to compare the mean responses of girl-identified and boy-identified students. This process yielded significant $(p<.05)$ differences on 9 out of 13 aggregated variables, with the average response given by male students higher/more desirable on every one (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Girl/Boy responses.

4.3. Results for Ethnicity

Independent-samples t-tests were also used to compare the mean responses of As/AsAm and non-As/AsAm students. This process yielded significant differences on 5 out of 13 aggregated variables, with the average response given by non-As/AsAm students higher/more desirable on every one (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Asian/Non-asian responses.

4.4. Results for Gender × Ethnicity

Because both ethnicity and gender identity were important predictors of students' experience in UMTYMP, a two-way ANOVA was used to compare student responses across the four intersectional categories, As/AsAm girl; As/AsAm boy; non-As/AsAm girl; and non-As/AsAm boy (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Responses aggregated by gender and ethnicity.

4.5. Conclusion

We can see from Figure 3 that As/AsAm girls (who make up the majority of girls of color in UMTYMP) reported the least positive experience on almost all variables when compared with the other three demographic groups in UMTYMP. We also see that while the majority of students believed that anyone could succeed at math, As/AsAm and White girls both reported the lowest confidence in their own abilities and the highest rates of imposter syndrome (see [1] for a similar trend among Black girls enrolled in high school mathematics courses). Finally we observe that As/AsAm students overall reported feeling unrecognized by their teachers.

Overall, these data seem to point toward the existence of strong gender effects, weaker ethnicity effects, and some interaction effects in student experiences in UMTYMP.

5. DISCUSSION

The year in middle school that I didn't take UMTYMP … I had this Asian American teacher that was very understanding of what I do, and what my parents were like. She supported me a lot more than my other teachers were able to … we identified with each other so we had a closer relationship.

– B, UMTYMP Student

Dr. P⁴ has actually encouraged me, though indirectly, to keep working harder in UMTYMP … she, like me, is an Asian female [sic] and obviously likes math. She inspires me to not be afraid of asking questions and to not give up too easily.

– K, UMTYMP Student

In this section, we provide suggestions based on the findings outlined in Section 4. Our suggestions focus on improving the experiences of As/AsAm girls, since they are the group who reported the least positive experience in this study. However, many of these suggestions can benefit As/AsAm students of any gender.

The first quote above is from a student who participated in our focus group and points to the importance of having faculty who can understand the unique cultural context⁵ in which As/AsAm students grow up. The second quote was a short-answer response from the survey and illustrates a student making a connection between seeing herself in her UMTYMP teacher and being motivated to succeed in a difficult program. Turning to the data from our survey, we see that As/AsAm girls reported the least positive responses on the “Teacher expectations” variable, consisting of the following questions:

• At times I think my teachers see me less as an individual, and more as a member of my ethnic group.

• Sometimes it seems like my teachers expect me to do really well at math just because of my ethnicity.

• My teachers sometimes assume I don't have to work hard at math, but I do.

• My teachers don't think I need help in math, but sometimes I do.

This suggests that an important step towards inclusivity for As/AsAm girls is to increase the representation of As/AsAm faculty and staff in programs such as UMTYMP. Despite being overrepresented in STEM, having faculty who may have experienced the MMS themselves can play an important role in identifying the needs of As/AsAm students, and providing the “indirect” support that K alludes to above. Recalling the aforementioned trend of lumping As/AsAm students with White students, this is a place where it is important to make the distinction.

Second, we suggest a curriculum that frames mathematical concepts in a way that feels relevant to the students. We observe that in the following three variables, As/AsAm girls provided statistically significantly more negative responses: teacher expectations, math affect, and math career relevance (see Appendix for the questions that comprised these variables). We interpret this to indicate that As/AsAm girls are receiving the message from their teachers that they should be good at math, but they struggle to see how being good at math fits into their personal lives, goals, and interests. The quote referenced in the title of this paper (“I just feel the need to be good at something and that thing should be math”) was provided in the survey by a South As/AsAm girl in UMTYMP and demonstrates her conflicting attitude towards being in UMTYMP. While we acknowledge that many typical undergraduate mathematics departments are constrained by departmental syllabi that emphasize getting through a set amount of material, the benefit of a program such as UMTYMP is the opportunity to incorporate extracurricular programming. For example, MathCEP occasionally hosts an UMTYMP seminar, consisting of accessible talks about advanced topics in math. Our suggestion would be to bring in speakers who reflect the students demographically, and can speak about interesting applications and careers in mathematics that are not the obvious ones. To quote Yamilée Toussaint Beach of the organization STEM From Dance, “there are common careers like being a chemist or scientist, and then there are the engineers that produce Beyoncé's shows. Imagine talking to a student about being a chemist versus being the head of technology for Beyoncé's tour. That's a different conversation” [12]. We believe this perspective shift, when applied to mathematics, can better serve As/AsAm girls in programs such as UMTYMP.

Lastly, we suggest two ways of acknowledging the unique personhood of As/AsAm students in UMTYMP. On the one hand, we suggest training instructors in programs such as UMTYMP about the nuances of the MMS and its negative implications on students. In addition to focusing on intersectionality of ethnicity and gender (see [9]), this training should focus on acknowledging the individuality of As/AsAm students and recognizing their individual accomplishments. On the other hand, we suggest highlighting examples of successful As/AsAms, especially As/AsAm women, in the curriculum. We already take advantage of the opportunity in an accelerated program to go into more depth about the historical context of various mathematical concepts and should leverage this opportunity to celebrate the contributions of As/AsAms, especially As/AsAm women, in mathematics.

6. CLOSING REMARKS AND FUTURE WORK

It is important to note that the survey data presented above is just a first step towards understanding the implications of the MMS for As/AsAm students in mathematics classrooms. That being said, a deeper analysis involving more narrative data and counter-stories is a crucial follow up to this project. Similarly, as teachers were mentioned extensively by the students, it would be very informative to survey the teachers and their role in perpetuating or dismantling the MMS. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that the students in this program have excellent academic records, specifically in terms of mathematics coursework. A missing, but equally important piece to this story is the experiences of As/AsAm girls who are not in accelerated mathematics classes. We also stress that effects like low confidence and sense of belonging are not unique to As/AsAm girls in our study. For example, two survey responses from White female UMTYMP students described, “I have some friends who are really good at math, and who get the concepts taught in UMTYMP right away, but I often feel like I'm not as good as they are at math,” and “my peers are very good at math, but some of them seem to have an extra passion for math that I don't.”

We also wish to acknowledge that an important discussion related to this work is the recruitment and retention of underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities into programs such as UMTYMP, and the goal of this study is not to mute that discussion. We hope that by opening the discussion about race and ethnicity, programs such ours can take steps towards improving inclusion and equity in accelerated mathematics programs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first author would like to thank Dr. Matthew Voigt for engaging discussions about gap-gazing and providing guidance on the literature review section of this paper.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anila Yadavalli

Anila Yadavalli is the STEM Program Coordinator at Mount Tamalpais College, an accredited community college serving incarcerated students at San Quentin State Prison. She was previously a postdoctoral scholar in the Center for Educational Programs within the School of Mathematics at University of Minnesota. She completed her PhD in mathematics in May 2019 at NC State University. She is interested in acknowledging and addressing racial inequities in mathematics through outreach programs and her scholarship.

J. D. Walker

J. D. Walker is a research associate in the Center for Educational Innovation at the University of Minnesota. His work focuses on investigating the impact of educational innovations on teaching and learning in higher education. In recent years, he has conducted studies of the role of gender and ethnicity in science classroom participation and course performance; the effectiveness of new, technology-enhanced classroom spaces; multimedia and mobile technologies; and the social context of teaching and learning.

Jeff J. Shi

Jeff J. Shi is a scientific computing consultant for the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute at the University of Minnesota. He received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan in 2018. He is passionate about addressing issues of equity and inclusion in education, particularly for K–12 students, and seeks to amplify and uplift their voices whenever possible.

Jonathan Rogness

Jonathan Rogness began working with UMTYMP and enrichment programs as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, and later joined the University's Math Center for Educational Programs (MathCEP) as a director. His work within MathCEP focuses on sharing the beauty of mathematics and making complex mathematical ideas accessible to students of all ages.

Notes

1 “Desi” is a colloquial term used to describe one's South Asian identity.

2 discrimination against individuals with darker skin tones

3 The low turn-out rate was expected, since the students rely on their parents for transportation.

4 Name has been changed for anonymity

5 For example, these experiences could include being children of immigrants, living in multigenerational homes, and/or gender norms that differ from mainstream, western culture.

B.

APPENDIX. SURVEY QUESTIONS

B.1. Mapping of Individual Survey Items Onto Aggregated Factors

A star (*) indicates that the question was reverse coded.

1. Math affect

   1. I like math.

   2. I would like to continue my mathematics training in an advanced topics course or other college courses.

   3. I wish that I could have avoided taking this math course.*

   4. I would enjoy taking math classes in the future, even if I don't have to.

   5. I feel intimidated when I have to deal with mathematical formulas.*

   6. I get nervous at the thought of enrolling in another math course.*

2. Math career relevance

   1. Mathematics will be useful to me in my profession.

   2. I would like to pursue a career which places an importance on math.

   3. Being good at math is important for my future goals.

3. Usefulness of math

   1. Most people would benefit from taking a math course.

   2. Learning math is a waste of time.*

   3. Mathematical thinking can play a useful role in everyday life.

4. Growth mindset -- math

   1. Math is something you must be naturally good at.*

   2. Some people are “math people” and some just aren't.*

   3. If you're not a “math person” then there's nothing you can do to improve your performance in a math course.*

5. Imposter syndrome (lack)

   1. Sometimes I feel like I am not cut out for UMTYMP.*

   2. Sometimes I think I got into UMTYMP by luck or by mistake.*

   3. Other people see me as more of a “math person” than I really am.*

   4. It makes me anxious when other kids talk about how well they're doing in math.*

   5. I often worry that I'm not as good at math as my friends.*

6. Math accomplishments recognized

   1. The teachers at my school aren't really interested in people like me.*

   2. At my school, I am treated with as much respect as other students are.

   3. Sometimes I feel I don't get credit for all the hard work I do.*

   4. My teachers generally don't notice when I do well on math assignments and tests.*

7. Teacher expectations

   1. At times I think my teachers see me less as an individual, and more as a member of my ethnic group.*

   2. Sometimes it seems like my teachers expect me to do really well at math just because of my ethnicity.*

   3. My teachers sometimes assume I don't have to work hard at math, but I do.*

   4. My teachers don't think I need help in math, but sometimes I do.*

8. Asking for help

   1. Being good at math means doing the homework without asking for help.*

   2. I don't like to admit when I am stuck on a math problem.*

   3. I feel uncomfortable asking my teachers for help when I am stuck on a homework problem.*

9. Family pressure (lack)

   1. Everyone's family has expectations of them, but sometimes I feel like my family's expectations are higher than most.*

   2. I'd be nervous about telling a family member that I got a bad grade on a math assignment.*

   3. If I do poorly on a math test, I worry I will disappoint people.*

   4. If I do poorly on a math test, I worry my parents will be disappointed.*

10. Comfort with remote learning

    1. I feel more anxious with remote classes than I did with in-person classes.*

    2. I feel more pressure to do well when learning from home that I did when going to school in person.*

11. UMTYMP confidence

    1. I expect to do well in UMTYMP compared with other students.

    2. I expect to do very well in UMTYMP.

    3. Compared with others in UMTYMP, I think I'm a good student.

    4. I think I will receive a good grade this semester in UMTYMP.

    5. Compared with other students in my UMTYMP class, I think I know a great deal about the material.

12. Test anxiety (lack)

    1. I am so nervous during an UMTYMP test that I cannot remember facts I have learned.*

    2. I have an uneasy, upset feeling when I take an UMTYMP test.*

    3. I worry a great deal about UMTYMP tests.*

    4. When I take a math test I think about how poorly I am doing on it.*

13. UMTYMP Interest

    1. I like what I am learning in UMTYMP.

    2. I think that what we are learning in UMTYMP is interesting.

    3. Understanding math is important to me.