Is prison too harsh in testing scandal? #tellusatoday

Ten ex-Atlanta Public Schools educators were sentenced Tuesday. All but one will serve time behind bars. They were convicted of conspiring to cheat on standardized tests. Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

The leaders were sentenced to seven years for cheating on tests? What a waste of our criminal system resources. Seriously, you can commit violent crimes and get less time than that. This is not justice. It is a joke.

— Jay Isenberg

I taught for many years, and it was very stressful. You have to deal with students who don't care to learn, parents who won't support school but support sports, and administrators who want to know why students aren't doing well on tests. Most teachers would not cheat, but some who are constantly battered might "cave" to their bosses. These teachers still need to be punished because honest teachers are being put in the same category as the bad ones.

— Patricia Gulledge

Teachers who cheat, to the level of racketeering, need major financial pain and jail time.

— Wayne Leslie

Corruption that robs taxpayers should not be tolerated, and these sentences were way too lenient. What a disgrace.

— Jon Gilbert

For fraud and cheating a generation of children, I would have given them 20 years and made them pay back salaries.

— Jay Piper

Letter to the editor:

How far our "justice" system has fallen. I liken it to a drunk who has to hit bottom before anything changes. The bottom is in sight. Teachers were sent to prison and given hard time; lives were ruined. Yes, they cheated on testing, but prison?

Bankers created the biggest financial disaster since the Depression, yet no high-level executives have gone to jail for the meltdown, and in fact, we bailed them out. If teachers have to cheat, there is something wrong with the way we teach. Less testing, more teaching!

Sherrie Sampson; Scottsdale, Ariz.

We asked what followers thought of the sentences for former educators in the Atlanta cheating scandal. Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

These scandals only will get worse as more teachers and administrators are paid by how much test scores go up.

— @everydaywitch

The punishment for these teachers' misdeeds screams hypocrisy. This is a total miscarriage of justice.

— @AndFerrer1

Bankers wrecked our economy and are still raking in cash. School administrators who cheated on tests serving time? Wrong!

— @wohelomom

Students suffered from the behavior of Atlanta teachers and educators. They should be punished.

— @betty_samuels

This is terrible. Who did the educators harm? Fire them. That's good enough.

— @Marq2680

The punishment is fitting. The kids they taught will be out of their schools and hopefully learned a better life lesson.

— @b_joseph01

Seven-year prison sentences? Consistent guidelines and punishment options must be established.

— @JerriWilliams1

For more discussions, follow @USATOpinion and #tellusatoday on Twitter.