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Pearson Education

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Pearson Education
Company typeSubsidiary
Founded1998; 26 years ago (1998)[1]
Headquarters
London
,
England
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsTextbooks, e-textbooks, tests, assessments
Number of employees
circa 20,000[2] (2023)
ParentPearson plc
Websitepearson.com

Pearson Education, known since 2011 as simply Pearson, is the educational publishing and services subsidiary of the international corporation Pearson plc. The subsidiary was formed in 1998, when Pearson plc acquired Simon & Schuster's educational business and combined it with Pearson's existing education company Addison-Wesley Longman.[1] Pearson Education was restyled as simply Pearson in 2011.[3] In 2016, the diversified parent corporation Pearson plc rebranded to focus entirely on education publishing and services,[4] and as of 2023 Pearson Education is Pearson plc's main subsidiary.[5]

In 2019, the company began phasing out the prominence of its hard-copy textbooks in favor of digital textbooks, which are preferred by younger generations, cost far less, and can be updated frequently and easily.[6]

As of 2023, Pearson Education has testing/teaching centers in over 55 countries worldwide; the UK and the U.S. have the most centers.[5] The headquarters of parent company Pearson plc are in London, England.[5] Pearson Education's U.S. headquarters were in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey until the headquarters were closed at the end of 2014.[7] Most of Pearson Education's printing is done by third-party suppliers.[5]

Company History

Following the British government's acquisition and nationalization of several of Pearson's aviation, fuel, and energy divisions in the early 1940s,[8][9] the diversified multinational conglomerate entered the education market.[10] It acquired the textbook publisher Longman in 1968.[10]

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Pearson plc divested further from a number of its industries and acquired more educational publishing companies, and its education publishing operations became steadily larger and more significant.[8][11] In 1988 Pearson plc purchased Addison-Wesley, the sixth-largest publisher of textbooks in the U.S.,[12] and merged it with Pearson's educational books subsidiary Longman to create Addison-Wesley Longman.[13][11] In 1996, it acquired HarperCollins Educational Publishing and merged it with Addison-Wesley Longman.[14]

Marjorie Scardino, who was CEO of Pearson plc from 1997 to 2013, increasingly focused the conglomerate on education and on making education acquisitions.[15][16] In 1998, Pearson plc purchased the education division of Simon & Schuster, which included Prentice Hall, Allyn & Bacon, and certain parts of the former Macmillan Inc..[17][18] Later in 1998 it merged Simon & Schuster's educational business with Addison Wesley Longman to form Pearson Education.[1]

After closed and divested most of former Macmillan Inc. divisions in 1999, Pearson Education sold the Macmillan trademark in the United States to Holtzbrinck Publishing Group which owned the British Macmillan Publishers in 2001.[19][20][21][22][23][24] Alpha Books, one of the former Macmillan Inc. imprint acquired by Pearson was later transferred from Pearson Education to then-sister company Penguin Group in 2003.

Pearson Education sold Silver Burdett Ginn Religion, a Catholic publishing division then operated under Scott Foresman to RCL Benziger in 2007 (which also acquired Benziger from McGraw-Hill in the same year).[25]

Pearson Education was rebranded as simply Pearson in 2011,[3] and split into Pearson North America and Pearson International.[26] A restructuring announced in 2013 combined Pearson North America and Pearson International into one Pearson company[27] organised around three global lines of business: School, Higher Education, and Professional.[28][29]

Following the sale of its financial news publications Financial Times and The Economist in 2015, Pearson plc rebranded in January 2016 to focus solely on education, and the corporation adopted a new logo.[4] The logo is the unconventional symbol known as the interrobang (‽), a combination of a question mark and an exclamation point, meant to convey a "combination of excitement, curiosity and individuality"[4] and "the excitement and fun of learning".[30]

In 2019, Pearson announced it would begin the process of phasing out the publishing of printed textbooks, in a plan to move into a more digital first strategy.[6] E-textbooks will be updated frequently, while printed books will be updated less often.[6] Students wanting printed books will need to rent them.[6] As of 2019, the firm received more than half of its annual revenues from digital sales,[6] and the U.S. accounted for 20 percent of Pearson's annual revenue coming from courseware.[6]

Imprints

Pearson has a number of publishing imprints, including:

InformIT

InformIT, a subsidiary of Pearson Education, is an online book vendor and an electronic publisher of technology and education content. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.[36]

It publishes books, e-books, and videos, and its imprints include Addison-Wesley Professional, Cisco Press, Pearson IT Certification, Que Publishing, and Sams Publishing.[32]

InformIT.com is one of the websites of the Pearson Technology Group,[37] and one of several sites in the InformIT Network.[38] The site features free articles, blogs, and podcasts on IT topics and products, as well as a bookstore carrying all titles from its imprints.[38]

Other sites in the InformIT Network include Peachpit.com.[37] Peachpit is a publisher that has been producing books on graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, web design and development, digital video, and general computing since 1986.[38] Peachpit is a publishing partner for Adobe, Apple, Macromedia, and others.[38]

In 2001, the Pearson Technology Group and O'Reilly Media LLC formed a joint partnership called Safari Books Online, to offer a web-based electronic library of technical and business books from InformIT's imprint partners and O'Reilly Media.[39] The InformIT Network offers access to this service via its web sites.[40] Pearson sold its interest in Safari Books Online to O'Reilly in 2014.[41]

Technology products

Pearson's products include MyMathLab and Mastering Platform.[42]

In 2006, Pearson School Systems, a division of Pearson Education, acquired PowerSchool, a student information system, from Apple; terms of the deal were not disclosed.[43] PowerSchool was a profitable product for Pearson; in 2014, it generated $97 million in revenue and $20 million in operating income.[44] In 2015, Pearson sold PowerSchool to Vista Equity Partners for $350 million cash.[44]

In 2007, the company developed the youth-oriented online quest game Poptropica, through its Family Education Network. In 2015, Pearson's Family Education Network, along with Poptropica, were sold to the London-based investment group Sandbox Partners.[45]

Pearson owns Cogmed, a brain fitness and working memory training program founded in 1999 by Swedish researcher Torkel Klingberg.[46][47]

In 2016, Pearson acquired StatCrunch, a statistical analysis tool created by Webster West in 1997. Pearson had already been the primary distributor of StatCrunch for several years.[48]

Partnerships

In 2007, Pearson partnered with four other higher-education publishers to create CourseSmart, a company developed to sell college textbooks in eTextbook format on a common platform.[49] In 2011, Pearson obtained a 5-year, $32 million contract with the New York State Department of Education to design tests for students in grades 3–8.[50]

Que Publishing, a publishing imprint of Pearson based out of Seattle, partnered with AARP in 2014 to develop and add to a series of technology books for seniors.[51] The series, which includes My iPad For Seniors, and My Social Media for Seniors, are large-print and colourful.[51]

Errors in tests

In the spring of 2012, tests that Pearson designed for the NYSED were found to contain over 30 errors, which caused controversy. One of the most prominent featured a passage about a talking pineapple on the 8th Grade ELA test (revealed to be based on Daniel Pinkwater's The Story of the Rabbit and the Eggplant, with the eggplant changed into a pineapple). After public outcry, the NYSED announced it would not count the questions in scoring.[52] Other errors included a miscalculated question on the 8th Grade Mathematics test regarding astronomical units, a 4th grade math question with two correct answers, errors in the 6th grade ELA scoring guide, and over twenty errors on foreign-language math tests.[53]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Pearson Education: World's Leading Education Business Is Launched". Pearson.com. 30 November 1998. Archived from the original on 24 February 1999.
  2. ^ "Who we are". pearson.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "About Pearson". pearsoned.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Cowdrey, Katherine (7 January 2016). "Pearson rebrand to reflect 100% focus on education". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Pearson plc (31 March 2023). "Form 20-F: Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022" (PDF). plc.pearson.com. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Education publisher Pearson to phase out print textbooks". BBC News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  7. ^ Moss, Linda (17 May 2013). "Pearson trims Upper Saddle River employees". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015.
  8. ^ a b Long, Steven; Jacques, Derek; Kepos, Paula, eds. (2019). "Pearson plc". International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 207. St. James Press / Gale Cengage.
  9. ^ "S. Pearson and Son". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b Christensen, Jens (2009). Global Experience Industries. Aarhus University Press.
  11. ^ a b "Pearson". Northern Illinois University Libraries. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Pearson to acquire Addison-Wesley for $283 million". UPI. 15 February 1988. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Addison-Wesley to Be Bought for $283 Million". Los Angeles Times. Reuters. 16 February 1988. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  14. ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. (10 February 1996). "Pearson to Buy a Publisher From News Corp". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  15. ^ Baird, Dugald; Sabbagh, Dan (3 October 2012). "Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino to step down". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  16. ^ Chozick, Amy (3 October 2012). "Scardino, Chief of Pearson, to Step Down". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  17. ^ Walsh, Mark (21 February 2001). "Pearson Hopes To 'Widen the Definition Of Education'". Education Week. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  18. ^ Selingo, Jeffrey J. (19 May 1998). "British Publisher Announces Plan to Buy Simon & Schuster's Textbook Division". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Pearson Sells Two Former S&S Units". PublishersWeekly.com. 24 May 1999. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  20. ^ Milliot, Jim (31 May 1999). "Wiley, Kluwer Acquire Two Pearson Units". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  21. ^ Milliot, Jim (31 May 1999). "Six Macmillan Library Kids Imprints Closed". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Macmillan Library Units to Join Gale". PublishersWeekly.com. 28 June 1999. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  23. ^ Milliot, Jim; Baker, John F. (5 July 1999). "IDG Books Buys Macmillan General Reference". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  24. ^ Bookseller, Allbusiness.com
  25. ^ "RCL Publishing LLC ("RCL Benziger"), a CFM Religion Publishing Group LLC division, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Silver Burdett Ginn Religion, a Scott Foresman imprint, from Pearson Education". Wicks Group. 6 September 2007.
  26. ^ McCleery, Alistair; Bold, Melanie Ramdarshan (2012). "'What is my country?': Supporting Small Nation Publishing" (PDF). Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies. 6 (1). Aberdeen University Press: 119.
  27. ^ Booth, Jenny (23 July 2015). "Pearson sells the Financial Times to Japanese newspaper Nikkei for £844m". The Times. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  28. ^ "About us: Our qualifications history". qualifications.pearson.com. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  29. ^ "Global Publishing Leaders 2014: Pearson". Publishers Weekly. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  30. ^ "Logo: The Interrobang" (PDF). pearson.com. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  31. ^ "Rights & licensing: BBC Active". Pearson.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Who is InformIT". InformIT.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  33. ^ "Financial Statements" (PDF). plc.pearson.com. Pearson plc. March 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  34. ^ "Rigby". Pearson.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  35. ^ McKinder, Helen (16 June 2020). "Meet Helen – answering all your York Notes customer service needs!". York Notes. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  36. ^ "InformIT Promotions". informit.com. Retrieved 14 September 2023. 2023 Pearson Education, InformIT. All rights reserved. 800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
  37. ^ a b "Redesigning a Big Umbrella of Websites: The Informit CSS Overhaul". peachpit.com. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  38. ^ a b c d "About the InformIT Network". informit.com. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  39. ^ "O'Reilly and Pearson Launch Joint Venture". oreilly.com. 1 October 2001. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  40. ^ "About". informit.com. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  41. ^ O’Reilly, Tim (4 August 2014). "O'Reilly purchases Pearson's stake in Safari". radar.oreilly.com. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  42. ^ Kahn, Gabriel (4 September 2014). "College in a Box". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  43. ^ "Pearson buys Apple's PowerSchool". eSchool News. 26 May 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  44. ^ a b "Pearson to Sell PowerSchool to Vista Equity Partners for $350M – EdSurge News". EdSurge. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  45. ^ "Family Education Network Sold - EdSurge News". 26 May 2015.
  46. ^ "History". cogmed.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010.
  47. ^ "Torkel Klingberg". pearsonclinical.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016.
  48. ^ "Pearson Acquires Major Statistical Software Firm, Integrated Analytics" Pearson (28 July 2016)
  49. ^ "Ingram Buys CourseSmart". Publishers Weekly. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  50. ^ Otterman, Sharon (12 August 2011). "In $32 Million Contract, State Lays Out Some Rules for Its Standardized Tests". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  51. ^ a b "New Tech Books Help People 50+ Get Savvy".
  52. ^ Collins, Gail (28 April 2012). "A Very Pricey Pineapple". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  53. ^ Haimson, Leonie (9 May 2012). "Pineapplegate continues, with 20 more errors, and finally an apologia from Pearson". NYC Public School Parents. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

Official website

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Pearson_Education&oldid=1180126344"