California Virtual Academy @ San Diego, Simi Valley CA

Original Research by School Decision on California Virtual Academy @ San Diego

California Virtual Academy @ San Diego is an online charter school spanning kindergarten through grade 12, physically located in Simi Valley but serving students across California. The school has an enrollment of over three thousand students and, as a virtual school, does not serve a traditional geographic community in the way campus-based schools do.

The student body is economically diverse, with a substantial share of families qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment reflects California's statewide demographics, with the largest share identifying as Hispanic, followed by White, Black, Asian, and smaller numbers of other racial and ethnic groups.

On state assessments administered in 2025, proficiency results across math, English language arts, and science reveal a consistent pattern: about one in three students demonstrated proficiency in math overall, while English language arts proficiency ran somewhat higher at about four in ten. Science proficiency was comparable to math. Within grade bands, performance tended slightly higher in middle grades (around six through eight) and slightly lower in the early elementary years tested. These results place the school below the midpoint of schools across Ventura County on overall proficiency. The school's single year of reported assessment data limits any view of trend.

As an online school, California Virtual Academy operates through a digital learning platform; the district recently migrated to Canvas, a change that parents have publicly reported as disruptive during its rollout, with some students experiencing technical problems and falling behind coursework. Families considering this school should anticipate that Canvas-based learning is now the daily experience and that the transition itself created friction worth understanding.

For high school, the school offers a partnership with California Baptist University and a career and college prep program with career-focused electives spanning fields such as arts and media, business and finance, and health science. These dual-enrollment and career pathway options give families a defined college and career route, though the breadth of offerings typical of large traditional high schools is not available in the online format.

Simi Valley itself is a mature suburban community of about a hundred thousand, with limited new development and a population that has remained relatively stable. The housing market reflects typical Southern California costs, with home values and rents notably higher than state benchmarks. The local economy centers on health care, manufacturing, and aerospace; the city serves largely as a bedroom community for workers commuting to Los Angeles County. As a virtual school, California Virtual Academy has no campus presence shaping local school choice in the traditional sense, but families choosing online schooling find in this charter a structured program with state assessment participation and career pathway offerings alongside the flexibility of remote learning.

No graduation rate, chronic absenteeism data, or special education enrollment figures were available for this school. The data we examined covers one year only, so multi-year academic movement cannot be assessed.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

75-79%Cohort of 240 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 527%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 637%

School 37% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income46%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income46%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income46%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income46%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income55%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income48%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income34%Higher-income43%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income36%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income34%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income41%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income42%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income37%6 pp gap