States pondering the best way to devise early childhood education ought to look at two recent studies. They conclude, in essence, that if high quality isn’t the focus, then don’t bother.

In a study published Friday in the journal Science, Georgetown University researchers found improved cognitive skills in students who attended prekindergarten and Head Start programs in Tulsa, Okla., public schools. That sets up those students for success in math, reading and writing. Oklahoma leads the nation in access to public schools for 4-year-olds, and those students develop beyond what would be expected through aging.

Plus, researchers found that Oklahoma’s programs somewhat offset traditional socioeconomic factors that cause disadvantaged children to lag behind others.

Those findings ought to be an eye-opener in California, where a new Rand Corp. study found that the quality of that state’s preschool offerings falls short and the children of low-income families suffer most.

“Few of the centers we studied provide the types of high-quality early learning experiences that can help prepare children to succeed when they enter school,” wrote the Rand study’s lead author, Lynn Karoly.

The two studies affirm what experts have said all along: quality matters. Oklahoma has higher standards than California and most other states. Early childhood teachers are expected to meet the same educational requirements as their colleagues in upper grades. Pay and benefits are relatively high. In California, only 25 percent of prekindergarten students were taught by teachers with a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

Idaho has no state-sponsored early childhood programs, which puts many of its children at risk of falling permanently behind.

Washington state doesn’t have the wide offerings of Oklahoma. Thus far, the focus has been on enrolling children from disadvantaged families, where the state can get the most bang for its limited dollars. However, the state does rate relatively high for its teaching standards, meeting nine out of 10 benchmarks recommended by the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Helping young children attain early learning opportunities is one of the smartest investments a state can make. Students are more likely to attend college and lead productive lives, and states can save money on criminal justice and welfare programs in the long run.

By focusing on quality, Washington state is headed down the right path, but it still needs to match its spoken commitment with real dollars to broaden the impacts and benefits. Idaho, on the other hand, needs to wake up and read the research.