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ATLANTA - A teacher in Atlanta, US, gave away the answers to a state exam because, according to her, the students were "dumb as hell".

Shayla Smith appeared before a three-person test-cheating tribunal on Aug 27 after the Atlanta Public School system came under investigation over claims of wide-spread cheating, reported The Huffington Post.

The tribunal came back after an hour of deliberation and decided that her contract will not be extended and that she will be released.

A former student and a colleague testified against her during the hearing.

A fellow teacher, Schajuan Jones, told the tribunal that she heard Smith telling another teacher, "I had to give your kids, or your students, the answers because they're dumb as hell".

Jones then told the tribunal that she had not told anyone earlier because she was afraid of being told off by her principal, the NY Daily News reported.

Both women also admitted that they do not get along, and Smith had called Jones a liar during the hearing.

An unidentified student, who is now in the eighth grade also testified against Smith. The student said that in 2010, Smith pointed to the correct answers throughout the exam.

However, a testing expert sided with Smith saying that the student's testimony was inaccurate as she had claimed that the test lasted for a few days, when it was only a day long.

Smith was also accused of changing answers on the test and the exam scripts contain numerous erasure marks that show wrong answers being changed to the right ones.

More than 180 educators are being investigated for acts of cheating, causing the district to spend about $747,243 monthly on the teachers on leave. The entire scandal could cost taxpayers about $11.2 million.

abrahamr@sph.com.sg