The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatuses for test pattern selection for computational lithography model calibration. According to some aspects, the pattern selection algorithms of the present invention can be applied to any existing pool of candidate test patterns. According to some aspects, the present invention automatically selects those test patterns that are most effective in determining the optimal model parameter values from an existing pool of candidate test patterns, as opposed to designing optimal patterns. According to additional aspects, the selected set of test patterns according to the invention is able to excite all the known physics and chemistry in the model formulation, making sure that the wafer data for the test patterns can drive the model calibration to the optimal parameter values that realize the upper bound of prediction accuracy imposed by the model formulation.