SEATTLE — High school seniors who hope to wear a cap and gown next June but still haven’t passed the Washington Assessment of Student Learning face an important deadline this week: the cutoff for registering to turn in a collection of evidence for an alternative assessment that will allow them to graduate.

Their portfolio of work won’t be due until Feb. 15, but if they fail to meet the Friday registration deadline, that alternative to the WASL will be lost to them — and so might the cap and gown, unless they are willing to wait until the next academic year to collect a diploma. The February portfolios will be graded by early May.

Students, or their parents, have until Friday to tell their school or school district testing coordinators that they want to turn in a collection of evidence.

School districts have until Saturday to give the state a list of students who plan to participate, said Molly O’Connor, the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s assessment communications manager. But Saturday should not be seen by students or their parents as their deadline, she added.

The class of 2008 has several more chances to earn a certificate of academic achievement — the new state high school diploma — but their alternatives are dwindling.

In addition to the collection of evidence or the spring WASL tests, this year’s seniors may be able to use SAT, ACT or advanced placement test scores to show they have met the standard. The WASL test results won’t be available until fall of 2008.

The new diploma indicates a student has earned all required academic credits, completed a culminating project, passed all the math, writing and reading sections of the WASL or an approved alternative, or passed the writing and reading tests and are taking another math class and another math WASL test this year.

As of Monday morning, 7,334 students statewide had signed up to create a collection of evidence for reading, writing or math this academic year, O’Connor said.

Last year — the first year in which collections of evidence could be turned in as an alternative to the WASL — 776 were turned in.

The collection of evidence is by no measure an easier way to meet the state’s academic standards.

“Of all the options, the collection is the most difficult,” O’Connor said. The collection is not a portfolio of old class work but a compilation of new assignments that meet specific state guidelines.

Students must do an extensive amount of work at the same level of rigor and the grading of the work is strict. The main difference is they have a lot more time to complete the work, under the guidance of a teacher.

“I think it’s really good for the students who may have a lot of test anxiety — who may need a little more time to think through what they’re doing,” O’Connor said.

Of 727 students who turned in math portfolios last year, 332 met the standard when the collections of evidence were judged. Of 31 writing portfolios turned in, seven met the standard, and of 18 reading portfolios, 15 met the standard.

Although the 2007 Legislature delayed the math part of the WASL as a graduation requirement until 2013, students must continue to study math until they graduate or until they pass the WASL. And they have to keep taking the math WASL every year until they pass it or an approved alternative, or graduate from high school.

Helping students and their parents understand the math requirement is the biggest communications challenge in the WASL world, O’Connor said.

Nearly a third of last year’s collections of evidence came from the Puyallup School District, thanks in part to an innovative program that weaves the process needed to complete a collection of evidence into special high school math and English classes.

Last year, students from that district submitted 200 collections. Another 344 students are signed up for the special classes this year.

“We’re enthusiastic supporters of the collection of evidence. It’s very hard work … but it’s shown to be well worth the effort,” said Bob Silverman, Puyallup’s executive director of assessment and accountability.

In addition to helping students with test anxiety, Silverman said the district has found this approach works for English language learners as well as students who have to keep taking math classes.

This year’s juniors or seniors who are delaying graduation can register for the spring collection of evidence between Jan. 15 and April 15. Then they’ll have until June 16 to turn in their portfolios.