Homeschool Record Keeping in Washington

Required hours

1000 hrs/year

School days

180 days/year

Required subjects

12 subjects

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation)

Recordkeeping

Recommended

Jump to the full Washington requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

What to keep in Washington

Good records are your best protection if anyone ever questions your homeschool. In Washington, keep an organized set: a running log of what you teach and when, samples of your child's work, and any assessment or filing documents the state asks for. Depending on the rules you'll keep some at home and file others, so keep everything organized and dated.

Attendance and hours

Washington requires a minimum of 1,000 hours of instruction per school year. This must be spread over at least 180 school days.

Portfolio and work samples

Under RCW 28A.200.020, each year's assessment becomes part of the child's permanent record kept at home. Washington doesn't require a specific portfolio format beyond that.

Assessment and evaluation records

Washington requires one annual assessment. Families may use a state-board-approved standardized test given by a qualified tester, or a written assessment prepared by a Washington-certified person working in education. Results aren't submitted to the district.

How to organize your records

Keep one folder per child per school year: a running activity log, a stack of work samples, any test or evaluation results, and copies of anything you filed. Homeschool Fox does this automatically, logging hours by subject from your phone, tagging core versus non-core, and generating the Washington reports and year-end summaries you may need.

Common mistakes in Washington

• Assuming the annual assessment gets filed

  Washington requires an annual standardized test or an assessment by a certified evaluator, but the result stays in your own records. Nobody collects it unless a question comes up, which is exactly why it needs to be kept rather than discarded.

What this looks like in Homeschool Fox

Every activity you log rolls into a compliance view for Washington, so the records exist before anyone asks for them.

Free Washington printables

Two ready-to-use PDFs for Washington homeschoolers. No account needed.

Templates, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with your state or district.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Washington

Everything Washington expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 1000-hour goal
• Required subjects & core hours
• Daily activity logs
• Attendance records
• Notes & portfolio records
• Printable PDF reports
• High school transcripts
• State-specific progress tracking

More Washington guides

• Washington Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• How to Start Homeschooling in Washington A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
• Homeschooling High School in Washington Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• How to Withdraw From School in Washington The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Moving to Washington What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
• Public School Sports in Washington Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Homeschool Hours Required in Washington The number, what counts toward it, and the pace to hit it.
• Required Subjects in Washington The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
• Washington Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.
• Washington Year End Report What goes in it, when it's due, and who reviews it.
• Homeschool Testing in Washington What the state asks for, when, and low-score rules.