General

The system of education in Taiwan begins with nine years of free, compulsory education.

Attendance for these nine years (divided into six years of elementary and three years of junior high school) is almost 100%. Of the elementary schools, 99% are public, and about 92% of the junior high schools are public.

The language of instruction is Chinese at all levels, though English is a required subject beginning in the seventh grade and continuing through the secondary level.

The grading systemis numerical (0-100), with 60 the passing grade except in graduate programs, where it is 70.

Most secondary and all post-secondary institutions will issue a transcript in English, usually with a suggested scale showing letter equivalents to the numerical grades at the bottom. The most common scale is 80-100=A; 70-79=B; 60-69=C. Some transcripts will show a scale in which an "A" is 85-100.

A few schools, on transcripts issued for U.S. institutions, will show the letter grades instead of the original numerical grades, but it is possible to insist on being sent the transcript with the numerical grades.

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