ATLANTA (AP) — When Beverly Hall first arrived in Atlanta as superintendent of the city’s public school system, she cautioned she wouldn’t be riding in on a white horse and that it would take time to fix the problems of low student performance.

But test scores dramatically improved during her 12-year tenure in the mostly poor, urban district, earning her bonuses and accolades as the nation’s top superintendent. Now she’s fighting to clear her name after she and nearly three dozen subordinates were indicted in what prosecutors say was a broad conspiracy to achieve those results by cheating.