AMSAT at Ed W. Clark High School takes 16 of 26 points from first semester grades just to reach the lottery. Here is how the points add up, three sample report cards, and the January 12, 2027 deadline.
Your eighth grader needs 16 out of 26 points on the CCSD Magnet criteria chart, all built from first semester grades, to get into the lottery for AMSAT at Ed W. Clark High School. The School Choice application is due Tuesday, January 12, 2027, at 3:00 p.m., per Magnet Application Information.
You can see the chart yourself in the district's official 2027 to 2028 Magnet Schools Catalog PDF on magnet.ccsd.net (rechecked October 22, 2026). Look for the page titled Criteria Chart. AMSAT, the Academy of Math, Science, and Applied Technology, is a criteria based program, which means a student has to clear that bar before the lottery even sees the application.
How do the 16 points add up?
Points come from four lines on the first semester or trimester report card:
First semester GPA: 3.50 and above earns 8 points, 3.00 to 3.49 earns 6, 2.50 to 2.99 earns 4, 2.00 to 2.49 earns 2, and below that earns 0.
Math grade, Pre Algebra or above: A earns 6, B earns 4, C earns 2.
English grade, English 8 or above: A earns 6, B earns 4, C earns 2.
Science grade: A earns 6, B earns 4, C earns 2.
A D or F in math, English, or science earns 0 for that line.
Three report cards, run through the chart
A 3.2 GPA with a B in math, a B in English, and a C in science: 6 + 4 + 4 + 2 = 16. That qualifies, with nothing to spare.
A 3.0 GPA with straight Bs in all three subjects: 6 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 18. Qualifies.
A 2.9 GPA with a B in math, a B in English, and a C in science: 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 = 14. Short by two, even though it is the same three subject grades as the first example. The GPA line matters.
Only first semester grades count, so this year's first semester report card, not seventh grade's, is the one that decides it.
The catalog contradicts itself here. The sentence above the chart, repeated on the district's Qualification Requirements page, says each grade converts at "A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0," but the chart itself awards 6, 4, and 2 points per subject, and only the chart's numbers add up to 26. Use the chart, and ask the Magnet Schools Department if a borderline report card makes the difference. Lottery preferences and the five choice cap are covered in our Magnet parent guide.
Who is Clark AMSAT for?
AMSAT is a CCSD Magnet program inside a neighborhood high school at 4291 W. Pennwood Ave. in central Las Vegas. Clark has run a Math, Science and Applied Technology magnet as a school within a school since 1993, according to its 2025 to 2026 School Profile. The same profile lists 2,799 students in grades 9 through 12, 84 percent on free or reduced lunch, and 25 percent English language learners. Clark's other Magnet programs are the Academy of Finance and Entrepreneurship, also criteria based, and Teacher Education, which the catalog marks interest based.
Application Information lists "Ed W. Clark High School, Las Vegas Academy, Del Sol Academy, and some International Baccalaureate (IB) programs" as accepting 11th grade applications. A family with a sophomore should ask the Clark Magnet coordinator whether that includes AMSAT before spending a slot on it.
The AMSAT schedule
Clark's profile lists double blocked AMSAT math from Algebra I Honors through Calculus III, double blocked AMSAT Biology and Chemistry, and triple blocked AP Precalculus BC and AP Calculus BC. Under "Courses Unique to Clark High," it also lists three UNLV courses: Calculus III (MATH 281), Linear Algebra (MATH 330), and Discrete Mathematics (MATH 251).
A student does not need Algebra I done before ninth grade. Clark's 2025 to 2026 Course Catalog lays out three four year tracks: Tier 1 Accelerated for freshmen who have taken at least Algebra I Honors and Biology Honors, Tier 1 for freshmen who have taken at least Algebra I, and Tier 2 for freshmen not yet in Algebra I. Extra math blocks take elective slots. AMSAT AP Calculus BC, for example, "takes two electives," the catalog says.
Clark's course catalog also says "All AMSAT students are required to complete at least one credit in a fine and/or performing arts course in order to receive the magnet diploma." That catalog names the program "The Academy for Math, Science, Arts, and Technology," while magnet.ccsd.net uses Academy of Math, Science, and Applied Technology.
Clark's Magnet contract
Clark's Magnet Contract page says accepting a seat "is a one year commitment" and that students may not withdraw or transfer during the school year. Students must keep a 2.0 GPA to continue, and a semester F puts a student on probation until the class is made up. Excessive tardies also mean probation. More than 10 absences in a semester means denied credit and a summer school retake. One suspension brings probation; a second means enrolling at the zoned high school at the end of the year.
Students on probation who do not improve "will be dismissed from Clark and have to enroll at their zoned high school," the page says.
Will CCSD bus my child to Clark for AMSAT?
Only inside Clark's Magnet transportation zone. A student has to live inside the transportation zone and more than two miles from the school, under CCSD Regulation 3531, per Magnet Application Information. The Magnet High School Transportation Information page lists Clark's pickup locations for the 2026 to 2027 school year. The earliest listed stop is Legacy High School at 6:16 a.m. A student who starts in fall 2027 rides 2027 to 2028 routes, so treat this year's stop list as a guide and confirm with the Magnet Schools Department before you rely on a bus.
Clark's own transportation page for new students still refers to 2023 to 24 stop times. Use the magnet.ccsd.net page for current stops.
How the AMSAT application works
AMSAT goes on the same School Choice form as every other Magnet and Open Enrollment option. The 2027 to 2028 Magnet Schools Catalog caps a family at five schools or programs in total, with no more than three Magnet programs, and says no changes can be made once the deadline passes.
After the deadline, high school applications are scored and qualified ones go into a computerized random lottery, per Selection Process. Results post to the School Choice parent dashboard, and the catalog describes three outcomes:
Selected: log in and click Accept, then check for the acceptance confirmation email. Accepting removes the student from every other School Choice list.
Alternate Pool: no action needed. Seats that open are filled from this pool by random lottery.
Not Qualified: the student did not meet the program criteria. The catalog says to contact the school directly.
Does anything improve the odds?
Preferences, and only on a first choice, on time application. Selection Process lists a sibling preference when a brother or sister is already attending Clark's Magnet and will be enrolled there next year, a geographic preference for a qualified applicant inside Clark's geographic preference area, and a feeder preference for a student already in a Magnet middle school applying to an entry grade. At the high school level the applicant must meet the program qualifications to get any preference.
What a Magnet seat commits you to
The district rules sit on top of Clark's own contract. The Magnet FAQs say a student who accepts commits to the Magnet "as their full time assigned school for the entire academic year," with a move back to the zoned school only at the end of the year. Clubs follow the seat: under CCSD Regulation 5132, a Clark Magnet student joins Clark clubs, not the zoned school's.
Athletes should read one line twice. The FAQs warn that a student athlete who returns to the zoned school may be ineligible for the rest of that year and for 180 school days in any sport rostered at the Magnet school, under Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association rules. Our sports eligibility guide walks through it.
There is no application, tuition, or entrance fee. The FAQs say some programs charge enrolled students a program fee, and to ask the school.
Where to see it before you apply
The catalog lists school open houses, camps and workshops, shadow days, and parent workshops as the ways to find a fit. The district's Magnet Schools Fair is Saturday, November 14, 9:00 a.m. to noon at South Career and Technical Academy, for families interested in the district's 45 Magnet Schools, according to the October 5 CCSD newsroom post. For a Clark visit or event date, ask the Magnet office below.
Contacts
Ed W. Clark High School: 4291 W. Pennwood Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89102, 702 799 5800. Office hours Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Magnet Program Administrator Andrew May, Assistant Principal: maya@nv.ccsd.net. Clark Magnet Coordinator Amy Langhorst: langhab@nv.ccsd.net. Magnet Secretary Dara Coleman: 702 799 5800, extension 4089, colemdo@nv.ccsd.net. All three are listed on the Clark High School Magnet Programs page.
CCSD Magnet Schools Department: 702 799 8492, magnetschools@nv.ccsd.net, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.