Businessweek

Pearson plc, through its subsidiaries and other affiliates, operates as a media and education company worldwide. The company’s principal operations are in the education, business information, and consumer publishing markets. The company delivers its content in various forms and through various channels, including books, newspapers, and online services. It offers services, as well as content, from test creation, administration, and processing to teacher development and school software. The company operates in approximately 70 countries, primarily in the U.S. and Europe. Divisions The company operates through three divisions: Pearson Education, The FT Group, and The Penguin Group. PEARSON EDUCATION This division provides educational materials and learning technologies. It provides test development, processing, and scoring services to governments, educational institutions, corporations, and professional bodies worldwide. It publishes across the curriculum and provides a range of education services, including teacher development, educational software, and system-wide solutions, and also owns and operates schools. In 2012, this division operated through three worldwide segments, including North American Education, International Education, and Professional. North American Education This segment serves educators and students in the USA and Canada from early education through elementary, middle, and high schools and into higher education with a range of products and services, including curriculum textbooks and other learning materials; student assessments and testing services; and education technologies. The company’s North American School business contains a mix of publishing, testing, and technology products for the elementary and secondary school markets, which are integrated. The major customers of this segment include state education boards and local school districts. The business publishes curriculum programmes for school students, at both elementary and secondary level, under various of imprints, including Pearson Scott Foresman and Pearson Prentice Hall. The company also provides digital instructional solutions under Pearson Digital Learning, such as enVisionMATH and Miller-Levine Biology. The business also provides student information, assessment, reporting, and business solutions (Pearson School Systems), which enables elementary and secondary schools and school districts to record and manage information about student attendance and performance, and instructional improvement systems (Schoolnet) that allow for data-driven personalized instruction and teacher support. The company’s North American Higher Education business publishes textbooks and related course materials for colleges and universities in the U.S. The company publishes across various fields of study with imprints, such as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Addison Wesley, Pearson Allyn & Bacon, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, and Pearson Longman. The majority of the company’s textbooks are accompanied by online services, which include homework and assessment tools, study guides, and course management systems that enable professors to create online courses. The company has also introduced new formats, such as downloadable audio study guides and electronic textbooks, which are sold on subscription. The company’s North American Assessment and Information business provides educational assessment services and solutions in the U.S., developing, scoring, and processing various student tests each year, for the U.S. states and the federal government. The company also develops clinical assessments for the professional practice areas of psychology, speech, language, hearing, occupational and physical therapy; and global talent assessment and learning assessment. International Education This segment covers various educational publishing and related services outside North America. Its portfolio includes text books, digital learning solutions, online testing and assessments, and a suite of integrated services. The company’s International schools business publishes educational materials in local languages in various countries. It provides Engl