ATLANTA (AP) – A judge kept his word, showing mercy to former Atlanta public school educators who accepted responsibility for their role in a widespread conspiracy to inflate student scores on standardized tests and coming down harshly on those who didn’t.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter had delayed sentencing by a day and encouraged the 10 former educators to negotiate deals with prosecutors.
Those who did that were rewarded Tuesday: Baxter gave a former teacher a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew at home for one year and a former testing coordinator six months of weekends spent in jail. They’ll also serve five years on probation.
The other eight weren’t so lucky: Baxter gave them sentences of between one and seven years in prison. They’re expected to appeal.