Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, we analyze quantitative administrative and survey data and qualitative archival data to examine the organizational character of standardized test cheating among educators in Georgia elementary schools. Applying a theoretical typology that identifies distinct forms of rule breaking in…

The author reports on a state investigation into Atlanta's impressive gains on state tests which finds that test-tampering was rampant in the much-praised school system. The report unveiled by the Georgia governor's office states that Atlanta teachers and principals for years methodically altered answer sheets for students taking state tests,…

This analysis of the Atlanta test-cheating scandal differs markedly from the version reported in the press. Using discourse analysis, I examined over 50 articles published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" ("AJC"), the hometown newspaper at the center of the investigation. Because newspapers are a primary source of…

Last July, the Atlanta Public Schools became the poster district for teachers and principals behaving badly. State investigators found that, in 44 schools across the city, 178 teachers and administrators had systematically cheated on the state standardized tests taken by their students in 2009. The largest cheating scandal by far has cast a pall…

The cheating scandal that has rocked the 48,000-student Atlanta school system was an egregious, but not entirely unexpected, byproduct of accountability pressures, many testing experts say. The reason: As long as test scores are used in any field to make decisions on rewards or punishments, including for schools or educators, a small percentage of…