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Pioneer Valley High School

675 Panther Drive, Santa Maria, CA 93454View on map

  • Public
  • Santa Maria
  • 760 seniors
  • 3,011 students

Pioneer Valley High School is a public high school in Santa Maria (Santa Maria Joint Union High) with 760 seniors. In fall 2025, 80% of its 128 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 75%. Its students applied most often to UC Irvine (UCI), UC Davis (UCD), and UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). 52% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

80%

103 of 128 applicants, fall 2025

County median 75%

Seniors admitted to a UC

14%

103 of 760 seniors

County median 17%

Seniors who applied to UC

17%

128 of 760 seniors

County median 24%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

10%

6 of 59 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

22%

11 of 51 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 13%

Campus by campus, fall 2025

The share of this school's applicants each campus admitted, beside the campus's rate for everyone else. Hardest campus first.

University of California

Pioneer Valley High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 3 of 9 campuses, about the same at 4 and worse at 2.

  • Los AngelesAbout the same

    10%

    6 of 59 admitted

    This school10%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.18 (all applicants 3.80)

  • Berkeley8 pts higher

    22%

    11 of 51 admitted

    This school22%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.22 (all applicants 3.87)

  • Irvine6 pts lower

    16%

    15 of 93 admitted

    This school16%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.12 (all applicants 3.77)

  • San Diego21 pts higher

    46%

    27 of 59 admitted

    This school46%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.15 (all applicants 3.84)

  • Santa Barbara4 pts higher

    37%

    25 of 68 admitted

    This school37%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.13 (all applicants 3.73)

  • DavisAbout the same

    40%

    30 of 75 admitted

    This school40%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.05 (all applicants 3.72)

  • Santa Cruz12 pts lower

    59%

    32 of 54 admitted

    This school59%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.89 (all applicants 3.61)

  • RiversideAbout the same

    88%

    43 of 49 admitted

    This school88%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.81 (all applicants 3.74)

  • MercedAbout the same

    98%

    54 of 55 admitted

    This school98%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.69 (all applicants 3.67)

Fall 2025. A student admitted to several campuses counts once at each one. All CA is the campus’s admit rate that fall for applicants from every California high school. Within 3 points counts as about the same. GPA is the UC-calculated GPA (weighted, capped).

California State University

Pioneer Valley High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 2 of 5 campuses, about the same at 3.

  • San Luis Obispo20 pts higher

    50%

    59 of 119 admitted

    This school50%Overall30%

  • San JoseAbout the same

    78%

    35 of 45 admitted

    This school78%Overall80%

  • NorthridgeAbout the same

    91%

    63 of 69 admitted

    This school91%Overall93%

  • Sacramento6 pts higher

    100%

    28 of 28 admitted

    This school100%Overall94%

  • FresnoAbout the same

    98%

    52 of 53 admitted

    This school98%Overall96%

Fall 2025. A student admitted to several campuses counts once at each one. Overall is the campus’s admit rate for all its applicants, from federal IPEDS data (fall 2023, the latest published). Within 3 points counts as about the same.

Where graduates go

Class of 2023 (739 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.

Any college

71%

526 of 739 graduates

UC or CSU

14%

101 graduates

Community college

56%

413 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC243%
CSU7710%
CA private college2<1%
Out of state101%
Community college41356%
Not enrolled21329%
Enrolled in college52671%
Total739100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

  • Gender: Female, Male
  • Race & ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino, White, Filipino
  • Student need: Low-income, Homeless, English learners, Students with disabilities
See the full report

Advanced Placement

10

AP courses offered

2023–24 school year · US Dept. of Education Civil Rights Data Collection

12

AP class sections

Counts every section taught, so it is larger than the number of different AP courses.

9% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

13%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

90 of 702 graduates

A score of 3 or higher on exams or a C- or better in courses. Not comparable with the exam-only share.

2025–26 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)

11%

of graduating seniors scored 3 or higher on at least two AP exams

75 of 711 graduates

2023–24 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)

Subject areas

  • Foreign language: 6 classes
  • Mathematics: 2 classes
  • Science: 2 classes
  • Social science: 2 classes

Academic context

State test (CAASPP), juniors tested in 2026, and the share of low-income students. A–G is the class of 2023. The tick is the county median.

  • Juniors meeting the English standard 46%County median 52%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 20%County median 23%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 16%County median 18%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 6%County median 7%
  • Low-income students 90%County median 58%
  • Graduates completing courses 52%County median 48%

Across California

Year
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Other schools in Santa Maria Joint Union High and nearby