Child immigrants over 9 more likely to drop out (Canadian study)

Children who immigrate to Canada after the age of nine are far more likely to drop out of school and never go back, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the census data of more than 100,000 new Canadians who immigrated before the age of 18.

The study showed a link between educational achievement and the age at which a child learned English or French.

Miles Corak, a University of Ottawa labour economist, led the study. He says children who came to Canada before the age of nine performed well in school — in fact they often did better than their domestically born peers.

full: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/27/pol-young-immigrant-kids-do-better.html

There are many anecdotes of children who immigrated to the US after age 9 and were successful. I don't know if a similar study has been conducted among American immigrant kids. In fact, Internet talk show host Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks immigrated from Turkey to the US at age 8 and eventually earned degrees from Ivy League colleges. Do you think that this should guide US immigration policy especially the DREAM Act?

The younger a child is exposed to a new language, the more adept s/he becomes at it.

Nine years sounds like a good demarcation; my family history bears this out.

I was 11 when we moved to the states. Already knew some English though not Southern English ... took much getting used to. Major culture shock.
I had also moved countries when I was four and seven though, so it was par for the course.
Had I not known some English already and not been used to moving already, I don't know if I would have wound up with the good education I did ...