From The Guardian:
Should Pearson, a giant multinational, be influencing our education policy?
Pearson, the giant London-based multinational, is the world's largest education firm as well as running Penguin books and the Financial Times. Attention is now focusing on its seemingly ever-growing influence on English school life.
Pearson's level of involvement in state education in the US, particularly through testing, has become high-profile in recent weeks. Last month, hundreds of parents reportedly protested outside the firm's New York offices, unhappy at the company's $35m (£22m) contract to provide controversial high-stakes tests for the city's schools. A statement from the group ParentVoicesNY said the protest was about "the excessive power and influence the billion-dollar, for-profit company, Pearson, has over [New York City's] education department".
Pearson also reportedly has a five-year contract worth nearly $500m (£318m) to provide tests for schools in Texas, and sets tests across other states including Florida, Kentucky, Arizona, Virginia and Maryland.
The paper quotes Diane Ravitch:
"The corporation is acting as a quasi-government agency in several instances, but it is not a quasi-government agency: it is a business that sells products and services. What part of the field of education does Pearson not manage?
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