If members of the high school senior class of 2008 are more exhausted this week than graduates of years past, they have good reason.

Beginning this year, students had four new state standards to meet in order to earn a diploma. Graduates needed to have passed the reading, writing portions of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (or state designated alternatives), completed a senior project, earned 23 credits and drafted a plan for what to do in their first year out of high school.

The WASL requirement did not seem to present a high hurdle for the class of 2008.

At Bainbridge high schools, 94.5 percent of seniors passed the reading and writing portions of the WASL or completed alternative options this year, besting the state completion rate of 91.4 percent, according to preliminary results released by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction earlier this month.

WASL results from other grade levels are expected at the end of the summer.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised to see that kids have been able to step up and meet these standards,” BHS Principal Brent Peterson said, noting that graduates rates have remained steady in recent years.

The state gradually began implementing WASL testing, but 2008 was the first class for which passing portions of the assessment was a prerequisite for graduation. Students who failed to meet the standards could meet an “Academic Achievement Option” by presenting a portfolio of work, scoring well on PSAT, SAT or ACT tests or earning good marks in advanced placement courses.

This year students had the option of passing the math WASL or taking taking math credits each year following 10th grade. If the state continues to roll out requirements as planned, students will have to pass the math and science WASLs in 2013 to graduate.

This year only about 72 percent of seniors statewide passed the math WASL.

Students and teachers were at first wary of the time-consuming senior project requirement, but it turned out to be a positive experience overall, Peterson said.

Some students used the projects to unleash their creativity, producing music, movies or artwork. A great number of students chose to serve communities, working on Habitat for Humanity projects, at soup kitchens, overseas with charities, or as tutors and coaches on the island.

“(Community service) was not a specific requirement, so it was great to see how many kids latched onto that angle,” Peterson said.

Bumping BHS’ required credits from 22 to 23 put more of a scheduling squeeze on this year’s seniors than classes past, when students often had the flexibility to take less than a full schedule their final year.

Planning for the year after high school was already common practice at BHS, though some tweaks had to be made to meet state standards, Peterson said.

Seniors who didn’t meet state requirements can work use community colleges and correspondence classes to make up the work and receive their diplomas before the next school year, and a few students will stay at BHS for an extra semester or year, Peterson said.

Overall, Peterson said he thought the new standards were positive in the sense that they demanded a high level from the school’s programs. But he said the large amount of staff time needed make sure students check all the graduation boxes, drains funds at both the state and local level.

“I do have concerns that making sure that we have all our ‘I’s dotted and ‘T’s crossed is placing a significant added burden to track all that stuff,” Peterson said, “and we haven’t really seen any resources come our way to implement that.”

Peterson said he hopes state requirements move evolve to include more end-of-course exams that demand less staff time.

“That’s one area where we can reduce staff time while still having a meaningful assessment,” he said.