there is a kid at my school who’s father wishes to send her to the U.S (not sure for how long…probablky in the several years bracket) for junior high school. i don’t really know anything about this subject but the father just sent the girl to sit the ssat test…some kind of standardised test entering secondary education. She got something like 7% overall. she’s a pretty bright kid and is able to express herself in english but there is no way that she is going to pass this test as it’s clearly aimed at native speakers and seems also to be aimed at placing students according to their level.
Anyway, i would like to suggest another route to the father…as i feel that there must be other tests aimed at foreign students…but i really have no idea and i will trawl the net looking.
i just wanted to ask if anyone knows anything at all about this subject, im drunk too so forgive the typing.
thanks, your sinestral friend.
There have got to be some private Mandarin-language schools in the U.S.; probably only in the larger cities, unfortunately. I’m thinking in terms of her getting her language skills up to speed and then transferring to a regular school after a year or two. You might want to direct him to some Taiwanese-expats-in-the-U.S. forums to ask around in them.
I hope he is at least going to send the girl to stay with relatives in the U.S.; I’ve heard a few horror stories about foreign students over here, e.g., there were three people (two men and one woman) in Spokane targeting Japanese college students for rapes a couple of years ago, on the theory that the exchange students would be too shamed to talk about it and would probably just go back to Japan.
Regardless their English skill, non-native speaking students will be required to take
the English Placement Test. Then, the school councilors will place students in different
classes according to the test result. The average foreign students spend about 1 to 2
years in ESL; some outstanding one might be able to take Transferable English classes.
ESL students can take some credit classes in the same time. After ESL, the foreign students should be able to take whatever classes they desire in the school.
For the rest part of her future life, her overtrusted parents seem willing to take the risk.
Anything could happen to that poor young girl anywhere. 
she would be staying with family