ATLANTA (AP) - Eleven former Atlanta Public Schools educators accused of participating in a test cheating conspiracy that drew nationwide attention have been convicted of racketeering charges.
The verdicts in the case were announced Wednesday in a Georgia courtroom. Only one of the 12 educators on trial was acquitted of the racketeering charge.
A grand jury indicted 35 educators in March 2013. Many reached plea agreements with prosecutors. The educators said they faced pressure from supervisors - including former Superintendent Beverly Hall - to inflate students' scores to show gains in student achievement.
Hall was supposed to be tried along with the others, but her lawyers successfully argued she was too sick to help her own defense. She died last month from complications of breast cancer.