Beverly Hall, Schools Chief During Atlanta Cheating Scandal, Defends Actions - NYTimes.com

Beverly Hall, Schools Chief During Atlanta Cheating Scandal, Defends Actions - NYTimes.com:

A Revered Educator’s Fall From Grace

By KIM SEVERSON

Published: September 7, 2011

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ATLANTA — Sitting in the polished offices of a lawyer who specializes in corporate criminal defense, Beverly Hall looked tired.

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Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

Dr. Beverly Hall, Atlanta's school superintendent, now stands marked by the biggest standardized test cheating scandal in the nation's history.

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Special Investigation Into Test Tampering in Atlanta’s Schools

Related

• On Education: Cracking a System in Which Test Scores Were for Changing (July 18, 2011)

• Systematic Cheating Is Found in Atlanta’s School System (July 6, 2011)

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It is not easy being the pariah of a major American city.

Dr. Hall, once named as the nation’s school superintendent of the year and a veteran of 40 years in tough urban districts including New York and Newark, now stands marked by the biggest standardized test cheating scandal in the country’s history.

As Atlanta tries to sort fact from fiction and get back to the business of educating the 50,000 children in its public schools, Dr. Hall is left to defend her reputation, prepare for any possible legal action and consider whether her