This is the first round of testing in the third-grade reading guarantee for this school year.
And John Charlton with the Ohio Department of Education reminded nervous students, teachers and parents that this is an end-of-year test, so it's not a big deal if kids don't pass this first time.
"They're going to have six, seven more months of learning before they really have to hit this score, this promotion score," Charlton said. "This is just kind of to see where they're at. And what we've found in Ohio is that a large percentage of students, I think 53 percent of third graders last year, had met the end-of-year score in the fall administration."
Charlton admitted, though, that there's a lot of pressure surrounding this and other tests, since those scores are counted in teachers' evaluations and district report cards.
"But if we put all that pressure on the students, we're doing them a disservice," he said. "We need to make that part of the regular educational process. We don't recommend that schools have pep rallies or pizza parties and things like that to draw attention to the test. Let's just make it part of the regular school day and give those assessments as if it's part of the regular education process."
Kids will be given the test again this spring and this summer, and will also have other opportunities to retake it or do other assessments if they still don't get a passing score. The test not only determines if kids are moved up, but also can play a role in teachers' evaluations.