Students 'biggest losers' in Atlanta cheating case: prosecutor

By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A sweeping test-cheating scheme orchestrated by public educators in Atlanta who were eager for cash bonuses and promotions short-changed the students who needed help the most, prosecutors said as the case went to trial on Monday. The former teachers, principals and administrators conducted a "cleverly disguised conspiracy" in 2009 to erase incorrect answers and, in some cases, instructed children to change their answers, Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Fani Willis told the jury. The scheme involved 35 educators at 44 public schools, prosecutors said. Most resolved their cases by pleading guilty, and Willis said some would testify for the prosecution at the trial of the dozen who decided to take their cases to a jury. Defense attorneys said in their opening statements that some prosecution witnesses changed their statements after being offered immunity and plea deals, and could not be trusted. Willis said some children would testify that educators gave them answers to tests. Students who needed additional instruction lost out because of improperly inflated test scores, she added, saying: "They were the biggest losers." The former educators could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of conspiring to alter standardized test scores to boost their bonuses. Attorney Bob Rubin, who represents former Dobbs Elementary School Principal Dana Evans, said teachers who resented her demanding approach are now wrongly accusing her of failing to stop cheating that began before her tenure. Annette Greene, attorney for former first-grade teacher Shani Robinson, said her client innocently erased students' stray marks on test booklets. "This was not cheating," Greene said. "First-graders doodle all over the exams." Among those indicted by a grand jury last year was award-winning former Atlanta school superintendent Beverly Hall. The criminal charges followed a state investigation that uncovered the cheating five years ago. Hall's case was delayed indefinitely after breast cancer left her too sick to attend court proceedings. Willis told jurors that Hall sought to cover up the cheating by ordering school documents to be shredded. The trial is expected to last several months, prosecutors have said. (Reporting by David Beasley; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Jonathan Kaminsky, Doina Chiacu and Peter Cooney)