One teacher said, “We considered [cheating] part of our jobs.”
http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/may15/atlanta-educators-sentenced-to-prison.html
Atlanta Educators Sentenced to Prison
After a six-months-long trial with testimony from 162 witnesses, an Atlanta jury found 11 former Atlanta Public Schools teachers, principals, and administrators guilty of the felony of racketeering for “conspiring to change student answers on standardized tests.”
handcuffsThe convicted educators changed answers on state tests in order to “artificially inflate scores to satisfy federal benchmarks” that are mandated by No Child Left Behind law.
The former educators, who faced prison sentences ranging from five to twenty years, apparently cheated in order to gain recognition, to receive bonuses and raises, or to keep their jobs.
Suspicious improvements in student test scores piqued the interest of Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporters who initially investigated. Eventually, a “state-commissioned report found organized, widespread cheating.” That report found as many as 180 employees were complicit in the cheating. Methods of cheating included teachers engaging in “cheating parties” at which wrong test answers were erased and replaced with correct answers.
Although 35 educators were originally indicted, 21 Atlanta educators had already reached plea deals with prosecutors after admitting to engaging in cheating. Some escaped prosecution by turning state’s evidence. The remaining twelve who were tried refused to make plea agreements.
One teacher said, “We considered [cheating] part of our jobs.”