San Dieguito Academy
Encinitas · San Diego County · Public
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Most similar nearby schools
LA Costa Canyon High School → Canyon Crest Academy → Rancho Buena Vista High School → Mt Carmel High School → Westview High School → Compare all similar →📋 At a glance
- 📚 26 AP courses offered — Elite
- ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- 🔢 8 calculus classes · 8 physics · 15 chemistry
- 🎓 AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 41% by test-taker volume
- 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 98% (Top 2.3% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How San Dieguito Academy compares for families
Above-average college outcomes statewide.
- ▸ Statewide42.2% UC Reach — 24.1 points above the California median of 18.1%. Ahead of 85% of California high schools.
- ▸ Locally🎓 Top 10 in San Diego County on UC Reach.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsBeats the peer median (42.2% UC Reach vs 29.4% median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
🎓 Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
90th 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 · 2020-21Bottom 41% 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?
Top 2.3% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate
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
Lower-need school
Not Title I eligible (FRPL < 25%)
<25% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Well below the Title I threshold; expect a higher-income student body on average.
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.
San Dieguito Academy sent 1,078 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 21.4% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 42.2% — 24.1 percentage points above the California median of 18.1%, higher than 85% of California high schools. The school produces 8.2 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
+12.8 pp above peer median (29.4%) · Ranked #4 of 11 similar schools
18.1%
29.4%
51.2%
42.2%
Higher than 85% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
San Dieguito Academy's UC Reach of 42.2% is in the top quartile statewide (median 18.1%; top 25% bar 30.5%) — but it's still below the top-10% bar of 51.2%.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 97.3% — a gap of 55 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, San Dieguito Academy's UC Reach is higher than 85% 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 | 4.07 | 4.19 | +0.12 | 14.6% | Peers +0.20 · wider |
| UCLA | 4.06 | 4.21 | +0.15 | 11.6% | Peers +0.23 · wider |
| UC San Diego | 3.96 | 4.22 | +0.27 | 23.4% | Peers +0.29 · matches |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.00 | 4.24 | +0.24 | 26.7% | Peers +0.27 · matches |
| UC Irvine | 3.93 | 4.15 | +0.21 | 14.4% | Peers +0.26 · wider |
| UC Davis | 4.02 | 4.15 | +0.13 | 35.5% | Peers +0.20 · wider |
📊 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 San Dieguito Academy sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (21.4% actual vs. 22.5% 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 | 158 | 23 | 11 | 14.6% | 4.2% | 47.8% | 4.07 | 4.19 |
| UCLA → Elite | 189 | 22 | 15 | 11.6% | 4.0% | 68.2% | 4.06 | 4.21 |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 205 | 48 | 14 | 23.4% | 8.8% | 29.2% | 3.96 | 4.22 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 221 | 59 | 19 | 26.7% | 10.8% | 32.2% | 4.00 | 4.24 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 139 | 20 | —† | 14.4% | 3.7% | — | 3.93 | 4.15 |
| UC Davis → | 166 | 59 | 11 | 35.5% | 10.8% | 18.6% | 4.02 | 4.15 |
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.
Absenteeism is up 5.1 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.
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 (-1.2%/yr, Total enrollment)
At per-pupil funding of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Funding impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2027) | ~1,702 | -21 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2029) | ~1,660 | -63 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2031) | ~1,620 | -103 | $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.
San Dieguito Academy — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot
Public · Encinitas · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools
- ▸On UC Reach, San Dieguito Academy sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #4 of 11): 42% vs. a peer median of 29%.
- ▸San Dieguito Academy's UC Reach has stepped down from a peak of 50% in 2018 to 42% in 2025 — a 8-point decline worth tracking.
- ▸Senior-class enrollment is down 9% (477→432 from 2018 to 2026), trailing the peer-group median of -7%.
- ▸At its recent rate (-1.2%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1660 by 2029 — about 63 fewer students than today.
Enrollment projection
That's about 63 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Dieguito Academy | Public | 1723 | 42.2% | -9% |
| Peer-group median | 29.4% | -7% | ||
| LA Costa Canyon High School | Public | 1841 | 18.9% | +8% |
| Canyon Crest Academy | Public | 1977 | 92.7% | -5% |
| Rancho Buena Vista High School | Public | 1842 | 16.0% | -24% |
| Mt Carmel High School | Public | 1818 | 39.1% | +2% |
| Westview High School | Public | 2067 | 74.2% | -9% |
| Vista High School | Public | 1635 | 13.0% | -25% |
| San Pasqual High School | Public | 1852 | 19.6% | -26% |
| Oceanside High School | Public | 1903 | 13.0% | -22% |
| Sage Creek High School | Public | 1236 | 39.8% | -2% |
| Scripps Ranch High | Public | 1920 | 42.8% | -3% |
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 San Diego County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.
San Dieguito Academy's enrollment is tracking San Diego County's baseline (-9.4% vs. -7.8%), and 96.5% stability is elite. The demographic tide is the headwind; you're holding your share.
66 of 1,863 students who enrolled at San Dieguito Academy this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (3.5% 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.