A 1995 study which suggested that kids from richer families are exposed to more spoken words than those from poorer families has long been the subject of controversy. Now, a new study fails to replicate its central finding. These scholars are concerned that Sperry’s study might lead people to believe that family income doesn’t have any bearing on a kid’s exposure to vocabulary, or that a language-rich home life isn’t important. For example, Daniel Willingham, a UVA psychology professor and expert on literacy, pointed in his blog post on the controversy to a body of research that, while not bei...