The trial of a dozen former educators and administrators accused of cheating in the Atlanta Public Schools is now underway.

During opening statements this morning, a prosecutor said those educators conspired to fix students' test scores.

Jurors will not hear arguments from lawyers for former superintendent Beverly Hall.

Her trial was delayed because she's undergoing treatment for cancer.

GPB’s Rickey Bevington spoke with Maureen Downey, who covers education policy for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, about lessons other school systems can learn from the APS cheating scandal.

Rickey Bevington (host, GPB’s “All Things Considered”): Maureen Downey… The AJC broke this story through extensive research and data crunching etc. Why did nobody else within the school system raise any flags?

Maureen Downey (education reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution) : That’s an interesting question because I would tell you when Beverly hall would come to with the AJC editorial board, of which I was a member, she prided herself on being data driven. She would bring in these data young data people, when I say young, they were always in their twenties and early thirties and, they would talk about data analysis and looking at, how data should shape the classroom instruction, so for data driven system, I think what they did wrong is, she got the data, the data looked good, it looked really good. And I think that was what all she wanted to know. But I think what happened is when they begin sort of get, ‘well okay, you improved this number this small percentage this year. We want you to improve more next year and they year after.’ That’s when the pressure began to come down on these principals and these teachers.

Rickey Bevington: Do you know if other schools systems in America or even elsewhere in other countries that have really taken to heart the lessons of the Atlanta Public School District cheating trial and scandal and made some effective reforms?

Maureen Downey: There is a revelation of score disparities nationwide. But I do think the Atlanta cheating scandal has, in fact, influenced the Federal Department of Education, I think again when you hear those folks talk now, it’s all about students gross. Other countries don’t use testing in the way that we do, they do use actually for sorting kids out but they don’t access their school as much as we do on testing. They don’t say to the teachers you are a good or bad teacher based on how your kids do. That’s uniquely American almost, uh, the real reliance, some sort of blind face that the test score tells you all you need to know about a teacher.

Rickey Bevington: Often the result of a terrible scandal is that an organization, or a system or a process actually becomes the most transparent, or the most honest or whatever… do you see that benefit happening within the Atlanta Public School System? That they’ve gone through a really bad time and the system is learned and is now a leader in the country for transparency and honesty?

Maureen Downey: It’s hard for me to know how to answer that. Because in a way the goal to me, transparency and honesty are important but the real goal, the real mission for Atlanta Public School has to be how do we teach these kids? Many of them come to us with no advantages whatsoever, how do we even the playing field for them. So my priority will be that they put most of their time and energy into fixing the quality of education that they are offering.

Rickey Bevington: Maureen Downey of the AJC. Thank you so much.

Maureen Downey: Thank you.

Tags: education, Atlanta Public Schools, APS, APC cheating scandal