[3][5][6] The scandal thrust the debate over using high-stakes testing to hold educators accountable, mandated by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, into the national spotlight.
[7] Teachers who confessed to cheating blamed "inordinate pressure" to meet targets set by the district and said they faced severe consequences such as a negative evaluation or termination if they didn't.
[15] Ryan Coogler will work with Michael B. Jordan for a fourth time in the upcoming film Wrong Answer, based on the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.
Kyle Holmes (book) and David Taylor Gomes (music & lyrics) cite the scandal as one of their main inspirations for a storyline that featured adults cheating on behalf of students.
[18] The show opened at Granite Bay High School three weeks after Operation Varsity Blues charges were made public.