Group says U.S. goal of doubling STEM graduates by 2015 behind target

The AP (7/15, Pope) reports that a "high-profile push by business groups to double the number of U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in science, math and engineering by 2015 is falling way behind target," according to a report to be published Tuesday by the coalition Tapping America's Potential (TAP). The group was formed in 2005, when "15 prominent business groups warned that a lack of expert workers and teachers posed a threat to U.S. competitiveness, and said the country would need 400,000 new graduates in the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields by 2015." The update from TAP indicates that "the number of degrees has.flattened out at around 225,000 per year." The "coalition, representing groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Defense Industrial Association, said there has been substantial bipartisan support in Washington for boosting science training." However, Susan Traiman, director of education and workforce policy for the Business Roundtable, "said there's been insufficient follow-through with funding to support the programs."