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Pearson Education Takes Lead in K-12 Scientific Research

Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Learning Group and Pearson Digital Learning Commission Independent Efficacy Studies to Validate Math, Reading, and Science Programs

Aligned to What Works Clearinghouse Criteria

Upper Saddle River, NJ, December 14, 2004 - Pearson Education, the leading education publisher in the U.S., has commissioned 21 independent scientific research studies to validate the effectiveness of its K-12 mathematics, reading, and science products. Designed to meet the research design criteria of the Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), these randomized controlled trial studies examine product efficacy, and are being conducted by highly respected independent researchers.

In announcing the studies, Pearson Education School Group President Martha Smith said, "Identifying best practices that lead to student achievement has long been an essential component in our development of Pearson Education's K-12 textbooks, digital, and supplementary products. With these new independent studies, Pearson Education has made a major commitment to provide scientific evidence to validate the effectiveness of all of our major programs. Our research practices are aligned with No Child Left Behind and the goals of the What Works Clearinghouse."

Seventeen randomized controlled trial studies are underway for Pearson Education's print programs: nine in Mathematics; four in Reading; and four in Science. To validate each study design model, researchers consult with other academics, researchers and/or WWC technical advisory board members prior to implementation to ensure a high-quality, rigorous research design. These studies are expected to be completed in August, with additional research studies to follow later in 2005. Pearson Education stated that it has committed resources for a three-year research studies on its basal products. Research will be ongoing as programs are revised.

Four independent randomized controlled trial studies are underway for Pearson Education's digital learning programs. Research practices and design standards align to scientifically-based research principles and evidence standards established by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

Pearson School Companies Executive Vice President Steve Dowling said that the Pearson Education has a long-standing record of commitment to research in developing its education products. He added, "Pearson has committed substantial additional resources to support independent efficacy research and evidence-based research for its basal print programs, its digital learning systems, professional development, and assessment and scoring systems for student evaluation."

Dowling noted that Pearson has also invested in two other precedent-setting research initiatives: the LessonLab Research Institute and Pearson Knowledge Research, which conduct research in conjunction with third party research groups and the federal government. Pearson's LessonLab Research Institute conducts experimental and quasi-experimental investigations of teaching and professional development, and conducted the six-year TIMSS Video Study of classroom mathematics and science teaching. Pearson Knowledge Research builds new educational technology to aid writing, reading comprehension, and collaborative learning based on its unique language analysis technology. These new computer-based applications are then validated in real world settings to assure their efficacy over more traditional methods.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Pearson Education's Multi-Method Research
As part of a rigorous research agenda, Pearson Education conducts multi-method research studies to support the efficacy of its products. In addition to the independent randomized controlled trial studies currently underway, Pearson Education offers a comprehensive body of research that includes formative and summative study results that track the yearly progress of program users vs. non-program users. These studies also include independent, quasi-experimental national effect-size studies. Formative research is central to the product development process and includes needs assessments, field-testing, and systematic evaluation of pre-publication product by well-respected authors, researchers, and educators. Pearson Education's blended approach to research provides a large and diversified body of data to support the effectiveness of its programs.

LessonLab and the LessonLab Research Institute
LessonLab provides continuing education for K-12 teachers and school administrators through traditional and research-based distance learning programs. With competitive grants awarded by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences, Pearson's LessonLab and its Research Institute conduct on-going experimental and quasi-experimental investigations of teaching and professional development enabled by LessonLab's state-of-the-art Visibility™ technology. Under contract with the National Center for Education Statistics, LessonLab Research Institute conducted the acclaimed six-year TIMSS Video Study in seven countries on classroom mathematics and science teaching.

Pearson Knowledge Research
Pearson Knowledge Research, a division of Pearson Knowledge Technologies, has contracts with numerous federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the Navy, Air Force, and Army. Pearson Knowledge Research is recognized for ground-breaking research in developing innovative educational technologies, and is noted for its text understanding technology using meaning-based search, and for its automated essay scoring technology.

The Waterford Institute
With funding from numerous foundations, the acclaimed Waterford Institute developed the researched-based Waterford Early Reading and Early Math and Science curricula. Distributed by Pearson Digital Learning, these programs are validated by 10 years of research, including published efficacy studies by the Waterford Institute and other research organizations.

Studies on Adequate Yearly Progress
Pearson's on-going commitment to improving each student's performance includes studies to provide value-added components to school districts beyond the government legislation. These initiatives provide schools a way to monitor student progress throughout the year to ensure every student is making adequate yearly progress. The studies allow teachers to use items found in their textbooks to monitor student progress as the benchmark items are correlated to state standards. Since the state assessments are also based on the state standards, teachers have an indication of student performance on the state assessments and can plan appropriately.

About Pearson Education
Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is the global leader in educational publishing. With brands such as Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Learning Group, Pearson Digital Learning, Pearson Longman, Pearson Addison-Wesley, Pearson Allyn & Bacon, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, and others, Pearson Education provides quality content, assessment tools and educational services in all available media, spanning the learning curve from birth through college and beyond. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. Pearson's businesses also include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

About What Works Clearinghouse
The What Works Clearinghouse was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education. The Clearinghouse is administered by the U.S. Department of Education through a contract to a joint venture of the American Institutes for Research and the Campbell Collaboration.

Contact:
Kate Miller
Pearson Education
212.782.3483
kate.miller@pearsoned.com