The test is for the each student to take one of the two bells from their to-be teacher within a set time limit in order to pass. Since there are three students, it would seem that one of them will be sent back to the Academy no matter what. This, however, is a ruse to test out whether the three can work as a team: if they ignore the fact that only two bells are available and be willing to work together, they might have enough skills to take the bells, and be allowed to pass. Because the jōnin is usually too strong for the genin to beat in any way, shape, or form, the true test is the genin's ability to work as a team and as such, the jōnin has to give them just enough allowance so they can't obtain the bell without teamwork. One exception to this test was Naruto and Sakura being tested by