Giving Compass' Take:

· After examining numerous studies, a new report from the Learning Policy Institute is hoping to clarify conflicting research into early learning programs. 

· How does conflicting information affect advancements in education?

· Here's more on early learning programs and their potential to close the disadvantage gap. 

After analyzing studies on early-childhood programs, the Learning Policy Institute finds design and execution play big roles in getting positive results.

It’s easy for educators following research on early-childhood education to get confused. District and school leaders that want to add or expand on-site preschool programs may especially be wondering how to best design a program when one study points to the lasting benefits of preschool and another seems to contradict it.

A new report from the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) seeks to clarify what sometimes feels like conflicting research on early learning programs, especially those that are publicly funded.

“Untangling the Evidence on Preschool Effectiveness: Insights for Policymakers” includes a comprehensive review of existing studies and highlights what specific benefits — such as literacy and math skills, placement in special education and grade retention — they were able to measure.

“Sorting out these findings requires an examination of the way that different studies construct comparison groups — whether children in those groups are truly comparable to the children who attended the preschool program under study and whether they themselves attended a different preschool,” the authors write.

Read the full article about early learning programs by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.