Washington – “Business Roundtable’s members were pleased today to see the announcement of final application criteria for the $4 billion in Race to the Top funding competition. The President’s continued emphasis on improving American education could not come at a more critical time.

“We strongly support the opportunity provided by the Race to the Top competition to accelerate the education reforms, policies and programs that help equip our nation’s students to succeed throughout their lifetimes. Business Roundtable urges states to take this opportunity to carefully craft applications that push education reform efforts toward transformational changes that will enable students to succeed in the global economy.

“We also urge the Administration to hold strong to the tough application criteria, awarding funding only to those states that emerge as leaders in the development of strategies that dramatically improve education outcomes.

“We share the Administration’s commitment to education reform. President Obama and Secretary of Education Duncan’s incentive-based, ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach encourages the innovative programs and new ways of thinking that are needed to take the next big steps in improving the quality of teaching and student achievement. We are eager to see America’s schools rise to the challenge,” said John J. Castellani, President of Business Roundtable.