online news: Huffington Post on Pearson INC

"Cuomo, Common Core and Pearson-for-Profit"

Alan Singer, Social studies educator, Hofstra University


Huff Post Education
Posted: 02/28/2012 4:19 pm

count: 1 page

If it has its way, Pearson will soon be determining what gets taught in schools across the United States with little or no parental or educational oversight.

A scary and clearly biased statement. But the evidence to back up this statement is alarming.

Evidence such as:  

• Pearson reported revenues of approximately $9 billion in 2010 and generated approximately $3 billion on just digital revenues in 2011.
•  Pearson is already creating teacher certification exams for eighteen states including New York, organizing staff development workshops to promote Pearson products, and providing school district Pearson assessment tools.
• In New York, Pearson Education currently has a five-year, $32 million contract to administer state test and provides other "testing services" to the State Education Department.
• It also recently received a share of a federal Race to the Top grant to create what the company calls the "next-generation" of online assessments.
• Since 2008, state education officials have been treated to trips to London, Helsinki, Finland, Singapore, and Rio de Janeiro.

 I find these reports to be alarming, at best.