Many Kansas students participated in a statewide effort to “break” the state’s online mathematics and reading testing system to find its technical limits and uncover any problems.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the effort came after the state encountered several problems administering the tests last year. Officials said a mix of technical issues and cyberattacks were to blame in paralyzing state testing for a month.

Last year’s exams were a pilot run, but test results this spring will count toward a school’s accreditation. Education officials want to make sure that testing process goes as smoothly as possible.

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of students across Kansas logged onto the system. Marianne Perie of the University of Kansas says that the practice run helped identify a caching problem that temporarily stopped the program in the morning.