The New York Times  reports on the first day of the criminal racketeering trial of over a dozen former Atlanta educators accused of having “engaged in a ‘widespread, cleverly disguised’ conspiracy to cheat on standardized test scores in an effort to protect their jobs and win favor and bonuses from administrators.” The article describes the defense’s opening arguments, noting that Atlanta “suffered one of the most devastating standardized-testing scandals of recent years.” The article gives background on the scandal and notes that former Superintendent Beverly L. Hall “has pleaded not guilty to a racketeering charge and other lesser counts.  

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (9/30) reports that despite Hall’s absence, her “presence loomed large” in the courtroom, as lead prosecutor Fani Willis “recounted how a desperate school system wooed Hall in 1999 to close a longstanding achievement gap and how she earned $544,472 in bonus money over a decade, on top of her $279,985 salary.”   The Christian Science Monitor (9/29) reports that prosecutors “outlined the case against a dozen former principals, teachers, and administrators accused of orchestrating a massive cheating conspiracy in 2009,” and describes the case as “one of the most sweeping and widespread cases of cheating to come to light in US public education.” (From School Business Daily)