This week all third-through eighth-graders in the Selma City School System begin taking the 10th edition of the Standford Achievement Test, more commonly known as the SAT-10. It will be a week of pencils scratching on paper and monitors roaming testing areas.

It will also be a week where students in Selma’s school system get a chance to shine.

The yearly, state-mandated test will be used to judge teachers’ and principals’ performance for the entire school year. It will also test the reading, math, language, social studies and science abilities of all students taking the exam.

The SAT has become a hurdle all students must jump during their academic careers. Students have been preparing for the test for entire school year; their curriculum is based around it.

Now it’s show time.

Last week all Selma elementary schools held pep rallies for the test. Students waved pompoms and performed dance routines to raise their enthusiasm for this week’s exam.

We applaud the schools for getting students enthused about taking a test that isn’t important to themselves only, but also to their school system and their community. Selma’s teachers and principals will be judged by the test scores as will the city at large.

And we know that we will be proud of that judgment.