Pacifica High School
Garden Grove · Orange County · Garden Grove Unified · Public
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Bolsa Grande High School → Magnolia High School → Rancho Alamitos High School → Loara High School → Western High School → Compare all similar →📋 At a glance
- 📚 22 AP courses offered — Elite
- ✅ Gifted & talented program
- 🎓 AP rigor: 78th percentile nationally
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 55th percentile by test-taker volume
- 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 96% (82th percentile nationally)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How Pacifica High School compares for families
Mid-pack college outcomes within California.
- ▸ Statewide18.3% UC Reach — right around the California median of 18.1%.
- ▸ Locally📘 Top 10% in California on ELA proficiency.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsRight at the peer median (18.2% UC Reach) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
🎓 Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
78th percentile nationally
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-2155th percentile by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
82th percentile nationally
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
🏛️ Federal Title I context
Title I Schoolwide eligible
≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program
40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.
Pacifica High School sent 384 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 19.3% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 18.3% — 0.2 percentage points above the California median of 18.1%, higher than 50% of California high schools. The school produces 1.5 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
On the peer median (18.2%) · Ranked #6 of 11 similar schools
18.1%
51.2%
18.3%
Higher than 50% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Pacifica High School's UC Reach of 18.3% is above the California median (18.1%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 51.2% or higher.
But in Orange County, where the local median is 25.0% and the top-10% bar is 70.9%, this score is mid-pack rather than exceptional — typical of its market rather than a standout.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 97.3% — a gap of 79 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, Pacifica High School's UC Reach is higher than 50% of California high schools (978 ranked).
UC funnel — which kids are getting in at what GPA
Combining the school's applicant pool GPA, admit pool GPA, actual admit rate, and statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, we can read which GPA tiers tend to get in — and which don't.
| Campus | 4.00+ GPA | 3.70–3.99 GPA | 3.30–3.69 GPA | < 3.30 GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out | Filtered out |
| UCLA | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out | Filtered out |
| UC San Diego | Strong shot | Moderate | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Santa Barbara | Strong shot | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Irvine | Strong shot | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Davis | Strong shot | Strong shot | Real shot | Filtered out |
The numbers behind it
| Campus | Applicant GPA | Admit GPA | Lift ⓘ | Admit rate | vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley (2024) | 3.76 | 4.11 | +0.35 | 13.5% | Peers +0.39 · wider |
| UCLA | 3.97 | 4.29 | +0.33 | 8.5% | Peers +0.29 · steeper |
| UC San Diego | 3.91 | 4.28 | +0.37 | 19.0% | Peers +0.31 · steeper |
| UC Santa Barbara | 3.85 | 4.15 | +0.30 | 25.5% | Peers +0.34 · wider |
| UC Irvine | 3.88 | 4.19 | +0.31 | 26.5% | Peers +0.29 · matches |
| UC Davis | 3.82 | 4.17 | +0.34 | 36.1% | Peers +0.30 · steeper |
📊 Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2025 (for reference)
| GPA band | UCB | UCLA | UCSD | UCSB | UCI | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00+ | 17.0% | 15.1% | 45.2% | 62.3% | 46.3% | 65.9% |
| 3.70–3.99 | 3.1% | 1.6% | 9.3% | 17.6% | 17.0% | 31.1% |
| 3.30–3.69 | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 10.3% |
| 3.00–3.29 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 1.9% |
| < 3.00 | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.7% |
Where Pacifica High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (21.8% actual vs. 21.3% expected).
UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025
Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.
Campus Breakdown — 2025
| Campus | Applicants | Admits | Enrollees | Admit Rate | UC Reach | Yield | Avg GPA (App) | Avg GPA (Adm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley → Elite | 45 | —† | —† | —† | —† | — | 4.03 | —† |
| UCLA → Elite | 71 | 6 | 6 | 8.5% | 1.5% | 100.0% | 3.97 | 4.29 |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 79 | 15 | 3 | 19.0% | 3.7% | 20.0% | 3.91 | 4.28 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 55 | 14 | 3 | 25.5% | 3.5% | 21.4% | 3.85 | 4.15 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 98 | 26 | 17 | 26.5% | 6.4% | 65.4% | 3.88 | 4.19 |
| UC Davis → | 36 | 13 | —† | 36.1% | 3.2% | — | 3.82 | 4.17 |
SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025
Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.
Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.
Student composition — 2025-26
HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.
Race / ethnicity
Program subgroups
Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.
Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25
Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.
Low and stable absenteeism — students are engaged and showing up. The leading indicator is healthy.
Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (-0.3%/yr, Total enrollment)
At per-pupil funding of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Funding impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2027) | ~1,611 | -5 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2029) | ~1,600 | -16 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2031) | ~1,589 | -27 | $0 |
Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.
Pacifica High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot
Public · Garden Grove · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools
- ▸On UC Reach, Pacifica High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #6 of 11): 18% vs. a peer median of 18%.
- ▸Pacifica High School's UC Reach has stepped down from a peak of 26% in 2019 to 18% in 2025 — a 8-point decline worth tracking.
- ▸Senior-class enrollment is down 7% (436→404 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -17%.
- ▸At its recent rate (-0.3%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1600 by 2029 — about 16 fewer students than today.
Enrollment projection
That's about 16 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.
Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.
Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools
| School | Type | Size | UC Reach | Enroll. trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacifica High School | Public | 1616 | 18.3% | -7% |
| Peer-group median | 18.2% | -17% | ||
| Bolsa Grande High School | Public | 1606 | 27.1% | -16% |
| Magnolia High School | Public | 1560 | 9.2% | -17% |
| Rancho Alamitos High School | Public | 1380 | 20.4% | -17% |
| Loara High School | Public | 1511 | 13.5% | -20% |
| Western High School | Public | 1399 | 12.7% | -24% |
| Buena Park High School | Public | 1570 | 16.0% | -12% |
| Santiago High | Public | 1557 | 20.6% | -16% |
| Marina High School | Public | 1912 | 23.7% | -20% |
| Oxford Academy | Public | 1353 | 84.1% | -4% |
| Savanna High School | Public | 1408 | 10.8% | -23% |
UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →
Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25
Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.
Pacifica High School's enrollment is tracking Orange County's baseline (-7.3% vs. -7.1%), and 94.7% stability is elite. The demographic tide is the headwind; you're holding your share.
89 of 1,677 students who enrolled at Pacifica High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (5.3% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.
Stability by student group
Nearest peer high schools
Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.
District financial profile — Garden Grove Unified (FY2020)
From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.
Local: 28.7%
Federal: 13.1%
Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Garden Grove Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).