The Washington state honors award program shall recognize the top ten percent of the students in the state in each year's public and private high school graduating class who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. Outstanding academic achievement shall be determined by the following criteria:

(1) The office of superintendent of public instruction shall identify the top 10 percent of students in the state using the cumulative high school grade point average (calculated as provided in WAC 180-57-055) including, but not limited to, the academic core subjects of English, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and languages other than English which may include American Indian languages;

(2) For students with a grade point average (GPA) in the top 10 percent in the state, high schools shall use at least one of the assessments available for students, which can include the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), the statewide English language arts and mathematics assessments, or local assessments to evaluate students' academic achievement;

(3) Completion of at least 75 percent of the graduation requirements for the high school in which the candidate is enrolled; and

(4) Enrollment in at least three academic core subjects in grade 12.