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An investigation at Baltimore city school found that administrators schemed to inflate enrollment, pressured teachers to change grades and scheduled students into classes that didn’t exist. Over a three-year period, about 100 students remained on the rolls but didn’t attend the school. The school operated evening and summer courses designed to allow students to make up credits, but the courses didn’t meet standards. In some cases, unqualified teachers were assigned to teach the classes, and in other cases, staff members were named as teachers of record for a class they never taught.

Two teachers are accused of using their test prep business to help people cheat on the state's teacher certification exams. The charges include 108 counts of wire fraud and three counts of theft of trade secrets. According to the US Attorney’s office, the couple took the Florida Education Leadership Exam and Florida Teacher Certification Exams several times, and along with other employees memorized the questions and answers in order to design a study guide.

Investigations into the departmental directorate of education have turned up some revealing findings. Cases of teachers without the necessary profile to teach specialised courses, or an oversupply of faculty with no pupils to teach are two of the violations unearthed.

Teaching positions are for sale in Mexico, and have been for decades. Although seldom discussed, the practice—established by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to reward party loyalists—is apparently widespread. The going price for a teaching position in a public primary school is reported to be between $5,000 and $12,000, depending on locale. Teachers who resign can either sell their positions or pass them on to their children. In at least some cases, local governments and the teachers' union supervise the buying and selling process. However, a recent reform effort—the "Alliance for Education Quality" (ACE)—signed by the government and the national teachers' union in May, would base new teacher appointments on merit, via an examination administered by an independent body. Not surprisingly, it has generated a vociferous response at the grass-roots level. Teachers have gone on strike in many states, marching on government offices, closing schools and blocking streets.