ATLANTA --- A suburban Atlanta principal who resigned amid an investigation into cheating on student tests was arrested Friday and accused of altering public documents.

Former Atherton Elementary principal James Berry was arrested at his home on charges of altering public documents, a felony.

His assistant principal Doretha Alexander turned herself in to police Thursday night on the same charges.

Mr. Berry left the DeKalb County jail Friday evening without commenting to reporters gathered outside. A jail official said his $15,000 bond had been paid earlier in the day.

Ms. Alexander was released earlier Friday on $1,500 bond.

A state investigation released last week found that student scores on state math tests were altered at four schools in the state in an effort to boost those schools' performance. Officials do not believe students were involved.

An administrative inquiry into the matter by DeKalb County schools revealed that Mr. Berry was involved in altering the tests, said district spokesman Dale Davis.

He said the district is still investigating Ms. Alexander.

Mr. Davis released a statement Friday saying the school district was surprised at the arrests and had not been notified beforehand.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Berry or Ms. Alexander had a lawyer.

DeKalb County Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Geary said he expects the investigation to be turned over to his office in the next few days so a decision can be made on formal charges.

Mr. Berry resigned last week, while Ms. Alexander was reassigned by district officials. Messages left at each of their homes Friday were not immediately returned.

Jeff Hubbard, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said this is the first time he has heard of educators or administrators being arrested for such offenses

The state school board is expected to vote next month on whether to toss out the scores. If the scores are discarded, it would mean none of the schools made "adequate yearly progress" on federal benchmarks.

Along with Atherton, tests from Burroughs-Molette Elementary in Glynn County, Atlanta's Deerwood Academy and Parklane Elementary in Fulton County are also under review.