Two principals of Atlanta schools say cheating couldn't have occurred there because state test monitors were present.

The monitors were stationed at the schools, West Manor and White elementary schools, because they had been flagged in a state analysis of erasures on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests in 2010.

The two principals, Cheryl Twyman and Tamarah Larkin-Currie, were among 178 Atlanta Public Schools employees named in a state report into cheating on the 2009 CRCT. Superintendent Erroll Davis has asked all educators implicated in the investigation to resign. The two women face termination hearings.

Twyman says unusual gains on this year's tests could have been the result of changes in student population.

The state monitors collected test papers, sealed them in envelopes with tamper-proof tape and locked them in a room.

Superintendent Davis has vowed that none of the employees linked to the cheating scandal will work with the district’s children again. He says he's working to have replacements in Atlanta's schools by the time the district opens its doors for the new year August 8th.

Tags: Georgia, education, cheating, Atlanta Public Schools, standardized tests