I’m currently a junior and my school doesn’t offer AP (just honors) so our math progresses like this: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus. I took Algebra II my sophomore year and for my junior year took semester College Algebra and semester Trig (it was awful, very demanding). But from my experience, College Algebra is basically taking Algebra II and going more in depth, so you will need a pretty solid foundation in Algebra II to continue to more upper level math classes.
That being said, my school is quite a bit different than a lot of other schools. As far as standardized testing goes, I’ve never taken the SAT but the ACT only has a few upper level math problems. If you’re aiming for just an okay score, simply knowing Algebra I and Geometry will get you by. If you want a good score, a solid foundation in Algebra II will be necessary.