Georgia schools fared much better this year on federal benchmarks than last year, with nearly 80 percent passing muster.

The state Board of Education has approved unanimously a plan to toss out scores for standardized tests at four elementary schools where cheating was discovered.

The head of the state’s Senate education committee wants to create a law that would levy criminal charges against educators who change answers on standardized tests.

As the state’s economy worsens, more school districts are considering converting entirely to charter schools to take advantage of the budgeting flexibility that comes with such a change.

Georgia’s first Internet-based public school now has 4,400 students enrolled across the state.