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.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

“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.