The article discusses the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal from 2005 and its aftermath. It summarizes that while educators were found guilty of cheating, Atlanta students' test scores on the independent NAEP actually improved significantly in the years following, indicating real educational gains. It questions whether the cheating scandal unfairly damaged effective teaching methods and reforms in the school system.

1. Students Were the Victims, but the School System Suffers
Too | Eric Cooper
Co-authored by Phillip Jackson
Looking back, the image of Black teachers and administrators being handcuffed and led away for
their roles in the Atlanta Public Schools' cheating scandal was one of the most unsettling of the
school year.
The charges were just as troubling: Eight of the educators were found guilty in April of participating
in a "criminal enterprise" under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) act for
manipulating student scores on Georgia's state standardized tests. Improved performance by Black
students in particular helped the school district meet national standards for Adequate Yearly
Progress.
But something remarkable happened as the cheating case, which dates back to 2005, unfolded.
Over the last 13 years, Atlanta students have made significant progress on another test -- the widely
respected National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), administered through the U.S.
Department of Education and considered the "gold standard" of educational testing in the United
States. In a comparison of grade 8 reading assessments for Black students in Atlanta, in Georgia and
in the United States between 2002 and 2013, the U.S. percentage of Black students at or above
grade level increased from 13 percent to 16 percent, and the Georgia percentage increased from 14
percent to 17 percent. But Atlantic Public Schools' Black student scores increased a stellar 10
points, from 5 percent to 15 percent.
If these NAEP scores are any indication, then Atlanta educators under the leadership of former
Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall, who died of cancer in March, did something right. We're not
spending enough time figuring out what it was and how other districts can duplicate those results.
Analysts have picked Atlanta's NAEP record apart over the last few years. Some suggested Atlanta
educators could have "gamed" those results, just as they did with the state tests. The exams differ
greatly from each other, however, and it would be much more difficult to cheat on the NAEP. Much
also was made of the fact that Atlanta's student population has become whiter and wealthier --
another possible explanation for better performance, some might imply. Yet Marshall S. Smith, a
former Stanford University education dean and one of the nation's most respected education
policymakers, concluded that the strong results were not explained by population changes alone.
"The bottom line in this entire discussion," Smith wrote, "is that for the most part, the gains for
Atlanta schools from 2003 to 2011 are for real!"
Besides, if the APS system had massive cheating, as prosecutors claimed at trial, then it would
follow that grades would have spiked during the cheating, then gone back down once it stopped.
After a small dip, however, scores continued to rise. We believe the groundwork, momentum, and
high expectations for the students and educational reforms instituted in Atlanta had something to do
with that. Other schools and school districts can benefit from Atlanta's teaching methods and
experience. What worked on the NAEP ought to be shared.
Superintendent Hall, who would have faced trial had she lived, was aggressive about school reform

2. in Atlanta. She wasn't afraid to reconfigure schools and cast aside school models during her tenure.
She raised lots of money to support underresourced schools. And her marching orders to teachers
and administrators were crystal-clear: Good or bad, you will be judged on your ability to reach pre-
set goals. Sadly, Dr. Hall, who was named the nation's superintendent of the year in 2009 and was
respected by many, is unable to defend herself or her staff.
This brings us to another point about the trial that has not been adequately explored. The tenor of
the proceedings was disturbing. Presiding Judge Jerry Baxter, of Fulton County (Georgia) Superior
Court, addressed the defendants in what many court observers perceived to be a rude, dismissive
and judgmental tone -- a far cry from the fair, balanced and objective approach Americans ought to
expect from our system of justice.
This perceived behavior by an American judge, in the context of an American justice system under
fire for what author Michelle Alexander ironically describes in her widely acclaimed The New Jim
Crow as a national policy of "mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness," should set off warning
alarms regarding the verdict. Indeed, Judge Baxter may have second thoughts about the
proceedings. He reduced his original sentence for three of the educators with these remarks: "When
a judge goes home and he keeps thinking over and over that something's wrong, something is
usually wrong."
More food for thought about this verdict can be found in a recent, scathing United Nations report on
our justice system. Clearly there are remnants of institutional racism in the American judicial
system, representing some of the historical legacies that need to be recognized, investigated and
addressed.
Approximately 100,000 African-American teachers have retired or been terminated since the late
1990s. Yet experts continue to call for more "minority" teachers in the classroom who can better
relate to an increasingly diverse student population. The Atlanta cheating case may be responsible
for just a handful of those terminations, but the damage it does to effective teaching and our system
of justice is profound.
Note: The 11 Atlanta educators found guilty in the Atlanta cheating scandal will be featured guests
on NCEBC Talk Show June 1 and 8.
Eric J. Cooper is the founder and president of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education, a
nonprofit professional development organization that provides student-focused professional
development, advocacy and organizational guidance to accelerate student achievement. He can be
reached at e_cooper@nuatc.org. He tweets as @ECooper4556.
Phillip Jackson is the executive director of the Black Star Project located in Chicago, Illinois.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-cooper/the-atlanta-cheating-scan_b_7309084.html