This spring, when high-school sophomores take the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the stakes will be very high. So will the stress.

The Class of 2008 is the first group of students required to pass the WASL in order to graduate. For educators, parents and students, that's a sobering prospect: So far, more than half of the state's 10th-graders each year fail to pass at least one part of the test.

Today, The Seattle Times begins a series of stories examining the use of the WASL as a graduation requirement. Over the next several months, we'll explore a number of key questions about the exam.

How are schools preparing students? How is the test affecting low-income and minority students, groups that have struggled with it the most? What has happened in states that already have graduation tests in place? Did Olympia, in demanding the state's students meet tougher standards, give schools the money and materials needed to succeed?

And we'll track the debate in the Legislature, where lawmakers are reconsidering whether so much of a student's future should ride on the outcome of one test.

We'll also view the WASL through the eyes of a handful of Puget Sound sophomores — all of whom failed at least part of the test in seventh grade — as they gear up to take it this time around.

Today, we introduce you to three students who have agreed to share their experiences, pass or fail.