Running head: PREDICTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 1 Predicting Academic Achievement of Latin-American Immigrant Students: Bilingualism and Biculturalism

Latin-American students make up the largest group of non-English speaking students in U.S. schools, and those who were not born in the U.S. make up the largest immigrant group. Although they face numerous challenges related to transitioning to a new language and culture, Latino immigrant students have been shown to have higher academic achievement than their domestic-born counterparts. This literature review seeks to identify predictors of academic success for Latino immigrant students. Specific generational status and language ability characteristics will be discussed, followed by the two major perspectives that appear to lead to academic achievement, bilingualism and biculturalism. Both perspectives will be discussed, as well as the various predictors of achievement that fall into each perspective. A review of the literature found that a model integrating bilingualism and biculturalism is the best predictor of academic success among Latino immigrants. Implications for the education field and suggestions for future research are discussed.