The exams were administered in the Spring of each school year. The goal was for 100% of students to be on grade level or better in reading and mathematics, by the Spring of 2014. The tests focused on the state's Academic Standards for reading, writing, mathematics and science. The Science exam included content in science, technology, ecology and the environmental studies. The mathematics exam included content from: Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and Trigonometry. The standards were first published in 1998 and are mandated by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education for all public schools in the Commonwealth. In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its high school assessments to the Keystone Exams, specifically in: Algebra 1, Reading/literature and Biology1. The exams are given at the end of the course, rather than all in the spring of the student's 11th grade year. Science in Motion West Perry High School took advantage of a state program called Science in Motion which brought college professors and sophisticated science equipment to the school to raise science awareness and to provide inquiry-based experiences for the students. The Science in Motion program was funded by a state appropriation and cost the school nothing to participate. Gettysburg College provides the experiences in the region. According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 37% of West Perry School District graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges. Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English. The West Perry School Board requires that each candidate for graduation shall have earned twenty-six (26) credits, including: English 4 credits, Math 3(4) credits, Social Studies 4 credits, Science 3(4) credits, Art/Humanities 2 credits, wellness fitness 4 credits, Career Preparation 1 credit, Technology 1 credit, and electives 6 credits. By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district. Effective with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania Board of Education eliminated the state mandate that students complete a culminating project in order to graduate.