Upper Saddle River, NJ - May 11, 2005 -- Pearson Education, (NYSE: PSO) the world's leading education company, today announced the official opening of a new downtown Sacramento office for its elementary and secondary school divisions. With Pearson's arrival, the company becomes the nation's largest educational publisher to establish a business presence in the state's capital.

The two divisions- Pearson Prentice Hall and Pearson Scott Foresman - formerly in separate locations -are now housed in a single office overlooking Capital Park.

Combined, the Sacramento office will house about 20 permanent employees; sales teams comprising an estimated 30 additional employees working remotely will also report into the Sacramento office from elsewhere in the state, as well as from Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii.

Throughout California, Pearson Education has about 550 employees and positively impacts all facets of education in the state. For example, the company's various divisions are responsible for providing curriculum to 45 percent of all California middle school students studying English literature. The company also supplies social studies programs to 40 percent of all middle and high school students and scores more than seven million STAR tests and 700,000 high school exit exams. An estimated 2.2 million college students use at least one Pearson textbook and thousands of teachers improve their skills with Pearson tools for professional development.

"In every area of California education, Pearson is committed to helping ensure that the state's students and teachers have access to the most effective learning tools available as an essential part of a first-class education," said Martha G. Smith, President of the Pearson Education School Group. "Symbolically and practically, our move to Sacramento further underscores this commitment."

The move also means the company will be closer to one of its largest customers, the State of California.

"As the world's leading educational publisher, we have a responsibility to not only sell our products, but to serve as a valuable resource to policy makers, legislators and other important audiences in California who are working so hard to provide a high-quality education for all," said Smith. "Putting down business roots in the heart of the Golden State is further evidence of how seriously we view our role in helping find solutions to the many challenges facing education today."

The new Pearson offices are in Suite 800 of the Meridian Plaza building at 1415 L Street.

About Pearson Scott Foresman
Pearson Scott Foresman is the world's leading elementary educational publisher of research-based instructional materials, assessment tools, digital media, and professional development. Pearson Scott Foresman's programs include: reading, mathematics, science, social studies, music, art, ESL/ELL, bilingual, language arts, and Pre-K. Pearson Scott Foresman is part of the Pearson School Companies which reach 35 million students with textbooks and workbooks each year and reach all 53 million students in the U.S.'s 110,000 schools with at least one of its products. www.scottforesman.com

About Pearson Prentice Hall
Pearson Prentice Hall is the nation's leading educational secondary publisher of scientifically researched and standards-based instructional materials for today's 6-12th grade classrooms. We create exceptional educational tools that ensure student and teacher success in language arts, mathematics, modern & classical languages, science, social studies, career & technology, and advanced placement, electives, and honors. www.phschool.com

About Pearson Education
Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education (www.pearsoned.com) is the global leader in educational publishing, providing scientifically research-based print and digital programs to help students of all ages learn at their own pace, in their own way. While virtually all students in America learn from a Pearson program at some point in their educational career, about three million college students are currently pursuing their courses online using Pearson Higher Education's products. In the U.S., nearly 25,000 schools use Pearson technology to help instruct preK-12 students and manage how they are doing. Pearson provides schools customizable services to create, deliver, score and report educational assessments, both in print and online, that help promote learning. The company is home to such renowned publishing brands as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Early Learning, Pearson Learning Group, Pearson Digital Learning, and Pearson Addison Wesley. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. In addition to Pearson Education, Pearson's primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Contact:
Stevan Allen
AllenStrategic
Office: 916-448-1336; Cell: 916-718-2999
stevan@allenstrategic.com

Wendy Spiegel,
Senior Vice President, Communications
Pearson Education
Office: 800.745-8489
wendy.spiegel@pearsoned.com