Cheating scandals have emerged in a number of places due to the enormous pressure on school districts, school administrators, and teachers to raise students' test scores to comply with higher benchmarks each year.  In many school districts, schools and teachers have been given financial rewards for raising scores across classes and or across the school.

FairTest documents instances of pressure-driven cheating in 37 states.

Atlanta: 

• March 30, 2013, Atlanta Journal Constitution: The Art of War at Atlanta Public Schools
• March 30, 2013, from the Washington Post Answer Sheet blog: Scathing Excerpts from Atlanta Indictment in Test Cheating Scandal
• March 29, 2013, New York Times: Grand jury indicts 35 including former superintendent, Beverly Hall, in Atlanta testing scandal.
  

Washington, DC: Recently publicized allegations of cheating  in Washington, DC during the tenure of Michelle Rhee as chancellor.

• John Merrow's January 8, 2013, PBS Frontline profile of former Washington, DC public school Chancellor Michelle Rhee, once again raised serious questions about the standardized test cheating scandal that was aleged during Rhee's tenure.
• February 10, 2013: Washington Post, Jay Mathews: Sad Failure of Two Inspectors General in D.C. Schools
  
• January 15, 2013: Taking Note blog, John Merrow: The Missing Memo
  
• January 9, 2013: Taking Note blog, John Merrow: Meet Adelle Cothorne
  
• January 10, 2013, Washington Post, Jay Mathews: D.C. Principal Slammed for Reporting Cheating
• January 9, 2013, Diane Ravitch: Expert: Why Cheating in DC Was Never Investigated
• January 8, 2013, Diane Ravitch: My Commentary on the PBS Rhee Special
• January 8, 2013: Furman University professor Paul Thomas critiques Frontline profile as uncritical of Rhee: Et tu Liberal Media?
  
• January 4, 2013, Washington Post, Emma Brown: 'Frontline' Raises Questions about Test-Score Tampering under Rhee