Washington Homeschool College Prep: SAT, ACT, CADR Requirements, and What to Do Each Year

Most Washington homeschool families hit the same wall in 10th or 11th grade: they have been teaching thoughtfully for years, but nobody sat down in 7th grade and mapped out what college applications would actually need to see. The curriculum was rich, the learning was real — but the documentation and course sequencing needed to fit a standard college application did not happen by default.

College prep for Washington homeschoolers is not harder than for public school students. It is just different, and the families who handle it well are the ones who know the specific requirements ahead of time.

What Washington Colleges Actually Want: The CADR Framework

The College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADR) are Washington State's framework for what constitutes college readiness. They apply specifically to students applying to the six four-year public universities in Washington — UW, WSU, Western Washington University, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, and The Evergreen State College.

Here are the CADR requirements every homeschool student applying to a Washington public university needs to document:

For homeschoolers, every single credit on this list must appear on your transcript. Public school students have a school counselor who tracks this and a graduation audit process. You are your own auditor. The fine arts requirement trips up more families than any other — not because they haven't done art and music, but because they haven't documented it as a formal course with credit hours.

Washington's HBI law already requires "appreciation of art and music" as one of the eleven mandated subjects. That requirement plus one year of documented fine arts instruction satisfies the CADR requirement. But it has to appear on the transcript with a credit hour attached.

SAT and ACT: What Washington Homeschoolers Need to Know

Washington's public universities have largely returned to requiring standardized test scores after the COVID test-optional period. Here is the current landscape as of 2026:

UW Seattle: Reinstated test requirements for the 2025-26 cycle. Submit scores. There is no minimum published score for admission, but competitive applicants to UW Seattle typically have 1300+ SAT (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing + Math) or 28+ ACT. Engineering, CS, and Business are significantly more competitive.

WSU: Test-optional for most programs, but submitting scores opens automatic scholarship consideration. A 1200+ SAT or 26+ ACT unlocks the Academic Achievement Award.

Western, Central, Eastern, Evergreen: Generally more accessible. Test optional in most cases but scores help. These universities are realistic targets for homeschoolers with strong portfolios but modest standardized test scores.

For homeschoolers specifically, test scores serve a second purpose beyond admissions: they provide independent validation of the academic level claimed on a parent-issued transcript. An admissions officer reviewing a homeschool transcript with all A grades and a 1350 SAT reads that transcript very differently than the same transcript accompanied by a 980 SAT. The test score either confirms the transcript or creates a credibility gap.

This means even if a university is test-optional, homeschoolers benefit from submitting a strong score.

When to test: Most families take the PSAT in 10th grade for practice, the SAT or ACT in spring of 11th grade, and retake in fall of 12th grade if needed. For homeschoolers, there is no school counselor scheduling tests for you — you register directly at collegeboard.org (SAT) or act.org (ACT). Test registration deadlines are approximately five weeks before test dates. Missing the deadline means waiting for the next available date, which can compress your timeline.

SAT vs. ACT: Both are accepted everywhere. The SAT has a higher ceiling in math for students strong in that area; the ACT has a science section and tends to favor students who process information quickly. Take a full practice test of each before committing. Many families choose based on which test their student scores higher on — that is the right call.

The CADR Course Sequencing Problem for Homeschoolers

The CADR mathematics requirement — three years minimum, four recommended — means your student needs a clear math sequence that culminates by the end of 11th grade if they plan to take calculus senior year or through Running Start.

A common sequencing:

• 8th grade: Pre-algebra / Algebra 1
• 9th grade: Geometry
• 10th grade: Algebra 2
• 11th grade: Precalculus
• 12th grade: Calculus (AP or through Running Start)

If your student started a standard public school sequence, this is probably already your path. If you used a more spiral, non-traditional, or literature-based math approach, you may need to explicitly map courses onto this sequence for the transcript. "Math 9" is less useful to an admissions office than "Algebra II — covered quadratic functions, systems of equations, logarithms, and trigonometric identities using [curriculum name]."

The same mapping applies to science. CADR requires two years with lab. "Lab science" means you need to document hands-on experimental components. A dissection, a chemistry experiment, a controlled observation study — these qualify. A read-only curriculum without a lab component does not. Document your labs in your portfolio year by year so the evidence is there when you need it.

A Year-by-Year College Prep Roadmap

9th Grade

• Set up a transcript template and begin logging courses with credit hours
• Confirm your math sequence will reach precalculus by 11th grade
• Document all 11 required WA subjects (these overlap significantly with CADR)
• Consider starting a foreign language if not already underway

10th Grade

• Take the PSAT (practice) — register directly, there is no school auto-enrollment
• Assess foreign language: are you on track for two years minimum?
• Evaluate Running Start eligibility: is your student academically ready for community college coursework?
• Research extracurricular activities to build out the activities section of college applications

11th Grade

• Take the SAT or ACT in spring; plan a retake if scores are below target
• Complete Running Start RSEVF paperwork if doing dual enrollment
• Begin a list of target colleges with their specific homeschool admission requirements
• Request community college transcripts for any Running Start coursework

12th Grade

• Application season opens August 1 — have your transcript finalized before then
• UW deadline: November 15 (most programs)
• WSU regular deadline: January 31
• Request letters of recommendation from Running Start instructors, co-op teachers, or tutors — give recommenders at least six weeks

Connecting Your HBI Documentation to College Applications

Washington's annual assessment requirement — the portfolio review or standardized test you complete each spring — creates a documentation habit that directly benefits college applications. Families who maintain organized portfolios year-over-year arrive at 11th grade with a complete course record rather than trying to reconstruct four years from memory.

The same materials that satisfy your annual assessment — reading logs, writing samples, course descriptions, standardized test results — are the raw materials for a college application. A curriculum table of contents, a reading list, a list of labs completed, test scores: all of it becomes evidence of a rigorous academic program when organized and presented correctly.

The Washington Portfolio & Assessment Templates is designed to produce both compliance documentation for Washington's annual assessment requirement and college-ready transcripts. The crosswalk matrix maps your activities to both the state's 11 required subjects and the CADR framework, so the same documentation serves both purposes.

If you are in 9th or 10th grade right now, the best time to build this infrastructure is before you need it. By the time your student is writing college essays in 12th grade, the transcript and course documentation should be a formality — not a months-long reconstruction project.

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