Selective admissions public schools in California

Find California public schools that screen applicants using academics, interviews, auditions, portfolios, or other readiness criteria, with a source for every classification.

We found 31 California public schools with a source-backed admissions screen. 10 also use a lottery after students meet the eligibility requirements.

A school qualifies only when the cited policy lets it evaluate applicants using academics, an entrance assessment, interviews, recommendations, writing, auditions, portfolios, attendance, discipline, or comparable readiness criteria. Residence, capacity, enrollment priority, and a lottery by itself do not count. Selective pathways inside an otherwise nonselective school are excluded.

Map of selective admissions schools

Source-backed selective admissions schools across California. Hover for school performance and click through for details.

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Schools are color-coded by reading proficiency.

Schools with selective admissions

Use the table to compare each school, its admissions mechanism, current state test results, and the official source supporting its classification.


Academy of the Canyons	William S. Hart Union High	High	Eligibility + lottery	94.8%	82.5%	Source
Accelerated Achievement Academy	Hollister	Combined	Academic screen	90.2%	90.1%	Source
Asawa (Ruth) SF Sch of the Arts, A Public School	San Francisco Unified	High	Audition / portfolio	84.2%	54.4%	Source
Balboa Gifted/High Ability Magnet Elementary	Los Angeles Unified	Elementary	Academic screen	89.5%	92.7%	Source
California Academy of Mathematics and Science	Long Beach Unified	High	Academic screen	93.8%	90.7%	Source
California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley	Duarte Unified	High	Eligibility + lottery	84.6%	48.7%	Source
Creative Performing and Media Arts	San Diego Unified	Middle	Audition / portfolio	35.0%	14.8%	Source
Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation	Los Angeles Unified	High	Eligibility + lottery	100.0%	93.0%	Source
Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy	Gilroy Unified	High	Academic screen	92.1%	85.5%	Source
Eunice Sato Academy of Math & Science	Long Beach Unified	High	Academic screen	97.6%	78.7%	Source
Grossmont Middle College High	Grossmont Union High	High	Academic screen	96.3%	51.9%	Source
International Polytechnic High	Los Angeles County Office of Education	High	Academic screen	88.7%	59.8%	Source
John F. Kennedy High	Corona-Norco Unified	High	Eligibility + lottery	93.6%	57.6%	Source
L.A. County High School for the Arts	Los Angeles County Office of Education	High	Audition / portfolio	84.3%	39.1%	Source
Language Academy	San Diego Unified	Combined	Academic screen	61.8%	51.0%	Source
Lowell High	San Francisco Unified	High	Academic screen	93.4%	87.3%	Source
Middle College High	Lodi Unified	High	Application review	92.8%	61.5%	Source
Milpitas Middle College High	Milpitas Unified	High	Application review	55.6%	38.9%	Source
OCSA	Orange County Department of Education	Combined	Eligibility + lottery	84.6%	70.1%	Source
Oxford Academy	Anaheim Union High	Combined	Academic screen	98.9%	96.7%	Source
Oxnard Middle College High	Oxnard Union High	High	Academic screen	95.8%	56.3%	Source
Palo Alto Middle College High	Palo Alto Unified	High	Application review	80.0%	60.0%	Source
Public Safety Academy	Fairfield-Suisun Unified	Combined	Academic screen	77.8%	64.3%	Source
Riverside STEM Academy	Riverside Unified	Combined	Eligibility + lottery	84.0%	77.1%	Source
San Diego SCPA	San Diego Unified	Combined	Audition / portfolio	51.3%	28.2%	Source
Stockton Early College Academy	Stockton Unified	High	Application review	90.0%	59.1%	Source
University High	Fresno Unified	High	Eligibility + lottery	96.5%	84.2%	Source
University Preparatory	Victor Valley Union High	Combined	Academic screen	89.4%	68.1%	Source
West Campus	Sacramento City Unified	High	Eligibility + lottery	89.7%	70.7%	Source
Whitney (Gretchen) High	ABC Unified	Combined	Academic screen	99.0%	99.0%	Source
William & Marian Ghidotti High	Nevada Joint Union High	High	Eligibility + lottery	96.5%	93.1%	Source

How this list is maintained

We screen California public schools for admissions signals, retrieve official school or district policies, and classify the stated process. Each included row must retain the source URL and the exact passage used for the decision. Schools remain out of the published list when the evidence is missing, ambiguous, or applies only to a program within the school.

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