Hart-Risley 1995 Study

The Hart-Risley study, conducted in 1995, examined how the amount of speech children hear impacts their language development and later success. Researchers observed and recorded interactions in 42 families from different socioeconomic backgrounds over two-and-a-half years. They found that children from wealthier families heard far more words than those from lower-income families, which correlated with differences in vocabulary and literacy skills. This research highlights the importance of early language exposure in shaping educational opportunities, emphasizing how social and economic factors influence a child's developmental trajectory.