Selection mode · 70 schools
Removing the test does not remove the judgment — it moves it to the visit day, the transcript, the recommendations, and the parent interview.
These 72 schools state on their admissions pages that no ISEE, SSAT, or HSPT score is required. What replaces it is an on-campus step: a scheduled visit or shadow day, a classroom observation, or an admissions interview. The exam is gone, but the evaluation is not — it simply moves to the classroom, the transcript, the teacher recommendations, and the parent interview.
Most no-test schools run the on-campus assessment as a scheduled visit day. The child joins the grade-level class for part of a day: lessons, lunch, recess. In the lower grades, the staff are watching social readiness and classroom routine — can this child follow directions, ask for help, talk to a stranger their own age. From roughly grade 5 upward, a short reading and math check is usually added, and in most cases it is used for placement rather than as a cut line.
There is nothing here to cram. What decides the outcome is fit, the transcript, the recommendations, and how the family presents itself.
Orange County has another 32 private schools whose websites say nothing at all about testing requirements. They are deliberately excluded from this list — not because they require a test, but because they have not stated their process. We only include schools that positively describe how admission works. If one of those 32 is on your shortlist, a phone call to the admissions office is the fastest way to find out where it stands.
The most common mistake in preparing a child for a visit day is rehearsing the child into sounding scripted. Three things are worth doing instead: walk through the day’s schedule in advance so the setting is not a surprise, confirm the child will greet an adult and speak up when stuck, and have two years of transcripts and the teacher recommendations assembled before you book the visit.
The parent interview carries real weight. The school is deciding whether your family will fit its community and back up its approach at home — a question you can only answer honestly, not strategically. EDUBUS is based in Irvine and works on school selection, visit-day and interview preparation, and application materials.
Catholic parish schools frequently give registered parishioner families priority in admission, and set a lower tuition rate for them. That is not an exam, but it is a real ordering rule. If a parish school is your first choice, find out early what registration and participation actually require, because it is not something that can be arranged in the final month.
If no school on the no-test list meets your goal — most often because the student is aiming at independent day schools that do require a score — go back to the testing route or start with what the ISEE is. The two paths are not mutually exclusive, and many families run both. Just decide before September which one gets the preparation time, so test dates and assessment days do not collide.
68 schools. Admission runs through a scheduled campus visit, shadow day, or interview instead of a test. The largest group in the county, including most parish Catholic K-8, Lutheran K-8, Christian, and Montessori schools.
Fairmont North Tustin (Fairmont Private Schools – North Tustin Campus)5.1mi
Fairmont Anaheim Hills (Fairmont Schools – Anaheim Hills Campus)12.2mi
Fairmont Historic Anaheim (Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus)11.8mi
Fairmont San Juan Capistrano (Fairmont Schools Inc. – San Juan Capistrano Campus)14.7mi
New Horizon School, Irvine — Upper Campus6.8mi
St. John's Episcopal School13.2mi
Heritage Oak Private Education15.1mi
Stratford School – Mission Viejo10.4mi
Carden Hall7.3mi
St. Catherine's Academy11.8mi
Montessori on the Lake7.9mi
Capistrano Valley Christian Schools15.7mi
St. Anne Catholic School15.0mi
Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus8.1mi
St. Junipero Serra Catholic School13.2mi
The Camino School7.9mi
San Clemente Christian School20.6mi
Mission Basilica School15.6mi
Mariners Christian School3.0mi
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic School4.7mi
Oakridge Private School8.9mi
Aliso Viejo Christian School10.5mi
Heritage Christian School (Junior High / High School Campus)8.6mi
Stoneybrooke Christian School13.4mi
The Geneva School9.4mi
Huntington Christian School7.8mi
St. Edward the Confessor Parish School16.7mi
Heritage Christian School (Elementary Campus)10.3mi
Our Lady of Fatima Academy21.6mi
Heights Christian Schools - Brea Campus16.3mi
Red Hill Lutheran School4.2mi
Bethel Classical Academy1.9mi
Orange Crescent School9.0mi
Abiding Savior Lutheran School8.7mi
Anaheim Discovery Christian School11.3mi
Christ Cathedral Academy8.3mi
St. John the Baptist Catholic School4.2mi
RSM Christian School12.7mi
St. John's Lutheran School7.2mi
Holy Family Catholic School6.8mi
St. Francis of Assisi School14.4mi
Saint Joachim Catholic School5.7mi
St. Norbert Catholic School9.1mi
Christ Lutheran School6.4mi
Liberty Christian School9.9mi
St. Joseph Catholic School13.6mi
St. Hedwig Catholic School15.9mi
Bethany Christian Academy12.3mi
Hephatha Lutheran School11.9mi
Acaciawood Preparatory Academy14.0mi
St. Columban Catholic School9.4mi
St. Barbara Catholic School7.4mi
Zion Lutheran School11.6mi
Blessed Sacrament School11.2mi
Bethel Baptist School7.2mi
Adelphia Classical Christian Academy6.4mi
Carden Conservatory12.0mi
Covenant Christian School9.4mi
Cristo Rey Orange County High School5.4mi
La Purisima Catholic School7.5mi
LePort Montessori Irvine Spectrum North5.8mi
Minaret Academy12.1mi
Mission Viejo Christian School10.6mi
St. Anne Parish School3.9mi
Veritas Classical Academy15.1mi4 schools. Their admissions pages say plainly that no entrance exam is required; an interview or campus visit is usually still part of the process.
No. The test is gone; the evaluation is not. It shifts to the shadow day, the last two years of transcripts, teacher recommendations, and how the family comes across in the interview. Assessment days also fill up, so late applicants get fewer date choices.
Usually a scheduled visit where the child joins a class. In the lower grades, staff observe social readiness and classroom routines. From about grade 5 up, expect a short reading and math check, mostly used for placement rather than cuts.
We only include schools that positively describe their admissions process. Another 32 say nothing on their website about testing requirements, so they are excluded — not because they test, but because they have not said. If one of them interests you, call the admissions office.
Do not rehearse them. Admissions staff meet hundreds of children a year and a coached child is obvious. Walk through the schedule the night before, make sure they will greet an adult and raise their hand, and have transcripts and recommendations ready.
Catholic parish schools commonly give registered parishioner families priority in admission and a lower tuition rate. It is not a test, but it does affect the order of the queue, so ask early what registration and participation involve.
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