Increases in state test scores and in the district’s graduation rate are among positive developments that have been part of Carstarphen’s tenure over the past five years. Another key contribution is that she helped Atlanta Public Schools move beyond a devastating cheating scandal that led to the convictions of 11 educators and took place under former superintendent Beverly Hall, who died in 2015. Carstarphen “put the shame and controversy in the rear-view and signaled to her administrators, teachers and students to look straight ahead,” wrote one editorial writer.
