America's continuing efforts to improve education and develop a world-class workforce will be hampered without a federal and state commitment to early childhood education (ECE) for 3- and 4-year-olds. The Business Roundtable and Corporate Voices for Working Families believe federal and state efforts to develop such early childhood systems must be based on a set of guiding principles that define the components of a successful system and high-quality programs. The six interconnected principals are as follows: (1) Learninga successful ECE system views children's learning as the central mission; (2) Standardsa successful ECE system articulates standards for children's learning and program quality that align with state K-12 academic standards; (3) Teachersa successful ECE system ensures that teaching staff possess the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to help young children enter school prepared to succeed; (4) Parentsa successful ECE system supports parents as their children's first teachers and provides high-quality program options to parents who choose to enroll their children; (5) Accountabilitya successful ECE system embraces accountability for measurable results; and (6) Partnershipsa successful ECE system builds crosscutting partnerships to govern, sustain, and improve the system. Similar to its role in higher education, the federal government could support low-income children's participation in high-quality programs while also helping states to build the infrastructure for high-quality programsincluding building staff capacity. Similar to its role in K-12 education, the federal government could link resources with accountability by paring federal investments with requirements for strong state accountability systems that measure results, ensure high programs standards, and expand the number of children served. (Research supporting the 6 principles is summarized and appended. Contains 19 references.) (HTH)