Running three parallel assessment systems is difficult. It requires faculty depth across IB, AP, and US diploma frameworks, a course catalog wide enough to serve all three, and university counselling fluent in the different application paths. Most schools commit to one framework. KCIS commits to three.
For families, the decision point at Grade 10 matters. Students who thrive under the coursework and extended essay rhythm of the IB often struggle with the discrete exam rhythm of AP. The reverse is also true. Choosing a pathway late, or by default, leaves students doing work that fights against how they learn. Families benefit from starting that conversation at Grade 9.
In our work with KCIS families, one transition comes up more than any other. The move from the Grade 6 bilingual primary program to the fully English junior high in Grade 7. From that point, every subject is taught in English.
Students who arrive in Grade 7 with strong conversational English can still find the jump challenging. The vocabulary of academic subjects is its own language, and so is the writing. Short answer questions, source analysis, lab reports, essay structure. These are learned skills, and the students who do well are the ones who learn them deliberately.
Most of our work with KCIS students sits here. We teach academic English through the subjects themselves, building vocabulary and writing fluency in the context of biology, history, and literature. We also give targeted instruction in the academic writing formats students encounter across the curriculum. The goal is that English stops being a barrier to learning and becomes the tool it is meant to be.
The Kang Chiao International School group was founded in 2002, initially offering preschool and elementary education at the Qingshan campus in Xindian. The Xiugang campus followed two years later with the opening of the Junior High Division in 2004, and in 2009 the Senior High Division opened, completing the K through 12 pathway on a single connected system.
The Xiugang secondary campus sits on approximately 4.5 hectares and includes dedicated boarding facilities for students whose families are not based locally. The Qingshan primary campus continues to feed into Xiugang at Grade 7. The wider KCIS group has since expanded to additional campuses in Hsinchu, Linkou, Neihu, and Kangxuan, each serving different geographies across northern Taiwan.
KCIS received IB Middle Years and Diploma Programme authorization in 2015, and subsequently added the AP Capstone pathway through College Board recognition. This three pathway model at the senior school level is the outcome of that deliberate expansion of academic options. KCIS's founding intent was to combine Taiwanese academic seriousness with internationally recognized qualifications, and the current curriculum structure reflects that dual orientation.
All KCIS students follow the IB Middle Years Programme from Grade 7 through Grade 10. At the end of Grade 10, each student chooses one of three qualification pathways for their final two years, based on their academic style, university ambitions, and subject strengths.
KCIS Xiugang outperforms global averages on both its IB and AP programs. Results below are the school's published figures for the May 2024 examination session.
KCIS publishes a comprehensive list of universities its students have matriculated to between 2012 and 2024. A selection below, organized by region.
KCIS Xiugang is open to both Taiwanese nationals and expatriate families. Unlike some Taipei international schools, KCIS does not use a standardized external test such as the SSAT or ISEE. Assessment is conducted via a school administered entrance examination.
What we observe in the families we have helped navigate KCIS, alongside what is publicly known about the Xiugang campus. A useful filter before committing to the application and the three-pathway decision at Grade 10.
KCIS students face a specific journey. The jump into English-medium instruction at Grade 7, and the three-pathway decision at Grade 10. Our approach is shaped around both, and around a belief about how academic English is best taught.
The Taipei guide, school-by-school coverage, and two Harland Review editorials families often read alongside KCIS Xiugang.
A consultation with our Student Coordinator is the fastest way to understand where your student is now and what preparation looks like. We can talk through the Grade 10 pathway decision, the Grade 7 transition, or whatever is on your mind.