brian hicks of the charleston post and courier, and philip stinson of bowling green university, thankh. >> thank you. >> woodruff: public schools in 29 states are taking the same common core standardized tests for the first time this spring. slammed by the right as federal overreach, and by the left as too much testing, the roll out of common core has been bumpy, to say the least. special correspondent kavitha cardoza visited one school in washington, d.c. that has made great academic strides in recent years to see how they are handling a new, more challenging test. her report is part of our "american graduate" series. >> reporter: it's pep rally day at jefferson middle school washington d.c. >> who deserves a gift card? is it riggins or is it troden? >> reporter: there are prizes and gift certificates and lots of cheering, all meant to get children psyched about the high stakes tests they're about to take. sixth grader nazar harper says it works. >> it makes me really pumped up and feel like i can do the test and i can really ace it! >> reporter: principal natalie gordon and assistan