International School of Qingdao


ISQ, or International School of Qingdao , is a private international school located in Qingdao, China. ISQ is an independent, co-ed, tuition-based international school which serves the expatriate community in Qingdao for children age 3 through 12th grade. A North American, international, college-preparatory curriculum is offered with English as the language of instruction.
Founded in 1996 with eight students, enrollment has steadily increased since the school started, with an enrollment in 2018 of over 300 students. That year, the student body was 49% Korean, 23% American, 6%, Canadian, 2% Australian, 1% French, and 19% from other countries. In total, twenty countries were represented in the student body.
ISQ is part of the International Schools of Consortium. iSC serves more than 2,000 students, most of whom are the children of foreign nationals and expatriates working for companies in China.

History

The International School of Qingdao, formerly QMIS, was established by International Schools Consortium, a non-profit corporation committed to educational work in China. This includes establishing international schools for expatriate children and promoting cultural understanding and exchanges. ISQ was the second of seven schools to be established under the International Schools Consortium. ISQ obtained licensing from the Qingdao Education Commission in June 1996 and the National Education Ministry on September 23, 1996.
When ISQ began in the fall of 1996, there were eight students in kindergarten through fourth grade. The school was housed in three classrooms with an office and restrooms on the second floor of the back wing of the No. 1 Middle School of High Tech Park. The school grew to thirteen students by the end of the first academic year, and by the end of the second year, the growing student population necessitated that the school relocate. In August 1998, ISQ moved to the fourth floor of the Children's Club at the Qingdao Children's Activity Center, No. 6 Donghai Road. The steady increase in enrollment required the school once more to acquire more classroom and office space at the activity center.
Because of its continued growth, ISQ again relocated to a larger campus. ISQ started its 2007–2008 academic year on a new campus in the Laoshan district. Now, after two decades, ISQ is in our new campus located in the Licang District of Qingdao. The Licang Campus is located at No. 26 Tianshui Lu.

Timeline

ISQ began the 2017–2018 academic year on a new campus in the Licang District. It is the only international school in Qingdao with its own, personal campus. The new facility boasts over 50 classrooms, an auditorium, two playgrounds, a soccer field, computer labs, video editing rooms, and a library.

Faculty and staff

ISQ has over 70 faculty and staff members from ten different countries, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea and South Africa.
The average tenure for our teachers at ISQ is 6.5 years and 49% of the faculty have a master's degree or higher, and some pursuing a master's while teaching.

Student body and class size

Since its establishment, ISQ's students have come from a wide variety of countries, including India, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, The United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Greece, Singapore, Russia, the Philippines, and New Zealand.
The class sizes at ISQ are set as follows:
English
Students in middle school take basic English classes for their respective grade level. Students in High School are required to obtain four English credits. ISQ offers two AP English classes: AP English Literature and Composition and AP English Language and Composition.
Foreign language
All students in grades 1-8 are required to study Chinese unless they require additional help in learning English. In high school, students must obtain two credits of a foreign. ISQ previously offered Spanish, but now only offers Chinese and Korean. AP Chinese is offered, and Honors Chinese is offered and considered the hardest Chinese course that ISQ offers.
Mathematics
In middle school, students begin with either Math 6 and Pre-Algebra, and by 8th grade will have progressed to either Algebra I or Geometry. In high school, students begin their freshmen year in either Geometry or Algebra II. For older high school students, Pre-Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, Intro to Statistics, and Advanced Calculus are offered. Intro to Statistics is not offered every year, and Advanced Calculus is considered math course that IQ offers.
Physical Education / Health
Students in grades 1-8 are required to take a general Physical Education class. Each grade of secondary is also required to take some variation of a traditional Health class. In high school, a total of two credits are required. As of the 2019–20 school year, ISQ's Physical Education and Health classes have changed, and the two are somewhat integrated. Students have the option to obtain Physical Education credits through after-school athletics. 0.5 credits are earned if a students participates in three Junior Varsity sports in one school year, and 0.5 credits are earned if a student makes two Varsity sports in one school year. A student can earn a whole credit if three Varsity sports are achieved in one year.
Science
Middle school students take a combination of integrated sciences – life, earth, and physical. For high school students, 3 credits of science are required, biology and chemistry are mandatory. Physics is optional for upperclassmen, in addition to optional AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics. Sophomores may take AP Biology. AP Physics can also count for a student's math credit under certain conditions.
Social studies
The middle school Social Studies curriculum includes a very entry-level study of World History and Geography. High school students must complete three credits of Social Studies, and one must be either AP Economics or Economics and Government. For freshmen, World History is required. Other high school students may choose between AP World History, AP Economics, Contemporary History/Culture, Science, and Identity.
AP courses / honors courses
ISQ currently offers AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP World History, AP Economics, AP Chinese, AP English Literature and Composition, AP English Language and Composition, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, and AP Research. AP Laugnage and AP Literature are each offered every other year, and the same applies to the AP Computer Science classes. ISQ formerly offered AP Art History and.
Advanced Placement courses have been designed to provide an additional challenge for students wishing to learn more about a specific subject area. Courses are taught at the level of a university freshman course. Students will receive 0.66 additional grade points for grades of C- or higher. Students in AP classes receive more homework than they would receive in an honors course. Students taking AP courses are eligible to take College Board exams. Charges for this test are paid by the school. However, if a student chooses to take an AP test but is not in that AP course, he/she must pay the exam fee. AP courses require more homework than regular classes. Whereas a regular course requires an average of 2.5 hours of homework per week, AP courses require approximately 6 hours per week.
Due to the rigorous requirements, ISQ has set limits on the amount of AP courses a student may take. Freshmen are only permitted to take AP Chinese, and only if they pass an entrance exam designed by ISQ's Chinese Department. Sophomores may choose between AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Economics, and AP Chinese, AP World History, and whichever of the two computer science courses the school is offering that year. They can only chose two. Under special circumstances, a sophomore may be permitted to take an AP Calculus course. Upperclassmen are permitted to take any and all AP Courses, but only three per year. Under special circumstances, a student may take five, but only if they can keep all their individual class grades above 97%.
Honors courses are also more rigorous and place higher demands on students. Students who take honors courses receive 0.33 additional grade points for grades of C- or higher. Unlike AP courses, honors courses are not subject to outside exams, and students are unable to use honors courses to apply for college credit.

Grading scale and grade point average

The GPA scale used by the International School of Qingdao depends on the grade percentage attained in each class.
Numerical gradeLetter gradeGPA points
98-100A+4.0
92-97A4.0
90-91A-3.7
88-89B+3.3
82-87B3.0
80-81B-2.7
78-79C+2.3
72-77C2.0
70-71C-1.7
68-69D+1.3
62-67D1.0
60-61D-0.7
Below 60F0.0