Static code-analysis metrics have long been used to assess and guide successful software projects. Traditionally, these metrics have measured software’s commercial or professional suitability. This work explores six code metrics designed to provide educational insight, specifically comparing pre- and post-LLM student work. With these metrics we measure over a thousand CS1 and CS2 final-projects, completed from 2018 to 2024 inclusive. We first examine how student work has changed with the curriculum’s embrace of LLMs in 2023. The results show a clear LLM-correlated impact on students’ early computing work, both positive and negative. Our CS1 offers five different project themes, and we add perspective by comparing how the metrics vary across these themes. The results underscore the enduring importance of curriculum, pedagogy, and scaffolding on student work. We conclude with our program’s ongoing adaptations to this mix of signals, increasing student agency and prioritizing student demonstrations and discussions of their chosen project work.