Public Educators in Atlanta have been caught in a massive cheating conspiracy designed to hide poor reading and math skills. “The four principle crimes that are charged in the indictment are the statements and writings, false swearings, theft by taking, and influencing witnesses,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. said.
Racketeering charges are also being filed.
Nearly 200 educators admitted to taking part in the massive scandal: they tampered with students’ standardized tests and corrected answers to inflate scores. Some teachers had pizza parties to erase wrong answers and circle in the right ones. One principal allegedly handled altered tests wearing gloves to avoid leaving her fingerprints.
Beverly Hall is Atlanta’s retired school superintendent. Her system’s turnaround won her national fame, awards, and more than $500,000 in performance bonuses. But investigators say she pressured teachers and principals to cheat, and punished those who refused. Hall, among those indicted, has denied the charges. A grand jury recommended her bail be set at $7.5 million.
Beverly Hall is a Democrat, and donated to the election campaign of Barack Obama.
Yup. It’s all about the children.
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Back in New Hampshire, we redefine the word drop-out to make the numbers go down. I wonder what other forms of chicanery are being undertaken to hide deplorable results in New Hampshire or the rest of the Public Education Industrial Complex?