11 Georgia teachers convicted in cheating scandal

On Wednesday, 11 former Atlanta public school teachers were convicted of racketeering for their participation in a cheating ring; only one was acquitted.

The cheating ring is one of the largest in U.S. history. A 2011 investigative report found that almost 200 teachers and principals at 44 schools had cheated. In March 2013, 35 public school officials were indicted. Since then, 21 have made plea agreements and two passed away.

Teachers said they were under pressure from supervisors to inflate test scores to demonstrate improvement, with some even erasing incorrect answers and replacing them with correct ones.

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“The cheating had been going on so long, we considered it part of our jobs,” Jackie Parks, a former third grade teacher, told The New York Times in 2013.