California Pacific Charter - San Diego, Costa Mesa CA

Original Research by School Decision on California Pacific Charter - San Diego

California Pacific Charter, known publicly as CalPac, is a tuition-free statewide online charter school operating under a San Diego County authorization. Its administrative address is in Costa Mesa, but the school itself is not a physical campus in a traditional sense. Families anywhere in California can enroll, which changes how to think about almost every dimension of this profile.

Because CalPac is an online school, the Costa Mesa housing context is largely beside the point for most families choosing it. For the record, the Costa Mesa zip code carries home values well above the California statewide median and rents that reflect the same pressure, with both ticking upward over the past year. The surrounding city is a mix of mid-century residential neighborhoods, action sports and tech company headquarters, and the South Coast Metro commercial corridor, anchored by the OC Fairgrounds and Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

What CalPac offers that is worth naming clearly: publicly reported information says the school's high school courses have been through the University of California's a-g course review process, meaning they can satisfy the admissions requirements for UC and CSU campuses, and select courses carry NCAA approval for student athletes. For a family weighing whether an online charter can maintain a college-eligible course sequence, that is a concrete, durable answer. The school also holds a Purple Star designation, a recognition for schools that have made documented commitments to supporting military-connected students through transitions, which is a meaningful signal for the many military families in the San Diego region and beyond who might find a flexible online school practical.

On the academic performance side, the most recent state assessment data available covers a single year, so no trend direction can be established. Across the tested grades in English language arts, proficiency rates are uneven by grade, with some grades reaching roughly half of tested students and others well below that. Math proficiency is lower across all reported grades, with the weakest results in the upper middle school years. Science results, where reported, fall between the ELA and math figures. Looking at overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school sits in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Orange County, though it is worth noting that comparison is somewhat imprecise because the school draws students statewide rather than from a defined geographic community. Grade-level results for one grade in sixth were suppressed, meaning the tested group was too small for the state to publish a figure without risking student identification. A parent interested in more detail on what the school does to support academic growth should ask CalPac directly, since a single year of data without trend context limits what any outside observer can conclude.

The student body is small for a K-12 school, with enrollment spread across all grades. The grade distribution is top-heavy, with a disproportionate concentration of students in the upper high school grades, particularly eleventh grade. This pattern is common in schools that attract students who have transferred in during high school, sometimes to accelerate graduation, recover credits, or accommodate a family's schedule demands. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting the school is serving families across a wide economic range. Race and ethnicity data show a majority of students are Hispanic or white, with meaningful shares of students identifying as two or more races or as Black. English learner and special education enrollment data were not available in the data provided.

No graduation rate was available in the data, nor were chronic absenteeism figures, both of which would be especially informative for an online school where self-direction and consistent engagement are central to outcomes. A parent considering CalPac for high school should ask specifically about those metrics.

The AB130 transitional kindergarten expansion is worth noting for families with younger children: statewide policy now allows children turning four before September 1 of a given year to enroll in TK at charter schools, making CalPac an option for families who want a public school option at that age in an online setting.

CalPac fits a specific kind of family: one that values schedule flexibility, needs a school that travels with them, is managing a military relocation, or wants a college-eligible online course sequence. The academic outcomes on state tests are below the Orange County district median, and families should weigh that alongside what the flexible model makes possible.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 56 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 339%

School 39% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · district not reported

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · district not reported

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

Grade 421%

School 21% · district not reported

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below 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.