Just peachy...

Turns out the renowned performance of public school students in Atlanta, Georgia was based on... wait for it... widespread, organized fraud by district teachers and officials.

Award-winning gains by Atlanta students were based on widespread cheating by 178 named teachers and principals, said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday. His office released a report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that names 178 teachers and principals – 82 of whom confessed – in what's likely the biggest cheating scandal in US history.

This appears to be the largest of dozens of major cheating scandals, unearthed across the country. The allegations point an ongoing problem for US education, which has developed an ever-increasing dependence on standardized tests.

One of the most troubling aspects of the Atlanta cheating scandal, says the report, is that the district repeatedly refused to properly investigate or take responsibility for the cheating. Moreover, the central office told some principals not to cooperate with investigators. In one case, an administrator instructed employees to tell investigators to "go to hell." When teachers tried to alert authorities, they were labeled "disgruntled." One principal opened an ethics investigation against a whistle-blower.

Consider this validation number 39,207 of the decision my wife and I made to homeschool the Musketeers.  I've no doubt there are still good, committed teachers in that educational wasteland.  But the system is more interested in self-promotion and preservation than in educating children (Just ask Wisconsin!).  Like they say... if you want something done right, best to do it yourself!