Capistrano Valley High School

How to Enroll at Capistrano Valley High School

Capistrano Valley High School enrolls students by Capistrano Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam.

District residents who want a school other than their assigned one apply through the district's School of Choice program, which the school website calls open enrollment. For 2027-28 the window runs from January 4 to January 29, 2027, and the district emails decisions by March 5, 2027; students new to the district can also apply at enrollment, and each student may apply only once per school year. An approved School of Choice stays the school of record for the rest of that school level without reapplying, and denials cannot be appealed. Approved students are not eligible for district busing, and a student may be returned to the school of residence for poor attendance, tardiness, academics or behavior, or for moving out of the district.

Students who live outside the district, including Irvine residents, cannot apply for School of Choice directly. The Capistrano Valley High School website states that they must first complete an Orange County interdistrict transfer and then the school's open enrollment application. The interdistrict request starts with the district of residence; once released, the signed application and supporting documents must be mailed or delivered to the Capistrano Unified district office, which does not accept scanned or emailed copies and treats incomplete applications as abandoned.

ATMS serves students who have shown exceptional ability and interest in mathematics, science or technology. Students must have completed Algebra 1 in 8th grade and enroll in Honors English I, Honors Biology and ATMS Honors Geometry/Algebra II or Honors Algebra II/Trig, with placement determined by Capistrano Unified Course Placement Guidelines. Incoming freshmen interested in the IB Diploma are urged to enroll in ATMS, although it is not required.

Courses and Signature Programs at Capistrano Valley High School

In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Capistrano Valley High School has 250 approved courses, including 22 AP courses, 22 IB courses and 104 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme

Capistrano Valley High School became an IB school in 2005. Its IB page lists subjects in English; French, Spanish and Mandarin; history and psychology; biology, environmental systems, marine science and physics; Math Analysis and Approaches and Math Applications and Interpretation; and music, theatre and visual arts.

Academy of Technology, Math & Science (ATMS)

Founded in 1995, ATMS is an accelerated program for students with exceptional ability in math, science or technology, with honors and accelerated courses in grades 9 and 10 that prepare students for IB and AP courses. Students must complete Algebra 1 in 8th grade to enter.

Mandarin Immersion Program

The program continues the district's Mandarin immersion sequence that begins in kindergarten: Mandarin Language Arts (MLA 9) and World History taught in Mandarin in grade 9, IB Mandarin SL in grade 10, AP Chinese Language and Culture in grade 11 and IB Mandarin HL in grade 12. Students learn Traditional characters in elementary school and Simplified characters in high school, take the STAMP 4S proficiency test each year, and all courses meet UC/CSU requirements.

Two-Way Immersion Spanish

The school has offered Two-Way Immersion Spanish since 2016, with goals of bilingualism and biliteracy in English and Spanish, academic achievement in both languages and sociocultural competence; students practice Spanish orally and in writing every day.

Engineering Program

The four-year engineering pathway runs through Introduction to Engineering Design (grade 9), Engineering Principles (grade 10), Engineering and Manufacturing Technology (grade 11) and Engineering Design and Development (grade 12), taught in an engineering lab equipped with 3D printers, a laser cutter, a bench mill and CNC machines.

Academic Results at Capistrano Valley High School: CAASPP and Graduation

In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 74.8% of Capistrano Valley High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 50.8% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 95.9% of the 486 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 62% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.

Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Capistrano Valley High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA

The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 334 of 510 applications from Capistrano Valley High School to the UC system were admitted (65%). Categories with fewer than five students are not published by UC and appear as "—", not zero.

Campuses are listed in order of the U.S. News national university rankings. UC leaves a category blank when it has fewer than five applicants or fewer than three admits or enrollees.

Student Body at Capistrano Valley High School

In 2025-26, 37.2% of Capistrano Valley High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 6.3% were English learners.

• White44.7%
• Hispanic or Latino29.8%
• Asian9.3%
• Two or more races8.2%
• Filipino2.1%
• African American1.4%

Other Public High Schools in Mission Viejo

• Mission Viejo High SchoolSaddleback Valley Unified School District
• Trabuco Hills High SchoolSaddleback Valley Unified School District

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