Upper Saddle River, NJ - May 11, 2005 -- Pearson Prentice Hall, the nation's leading educational publisher, is the clear choice among North Carolina's middle school and high school science teachers. The publisher's research-based science programs, designed to meet the standards mandated by No Child Left Behind and North Carolina, were chosen overwhelmingly by educators and schools across the state in 2005.

Going forward, one in three North Carolina middle school students will learn from Pearson Prentice Hall's North Carolina Science Explorer. Science Explorer is authored by Mike Padilla, President of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and a co-author of the National Science Education Standards.

Over three-quarters of the schools using Science Explorer nationally have shown significant increases in student achievement, according to an independent research study. Science Explorer outperformed other middle school textbook programs 8 out of 10 times, the study showed.

Pearson Prentice Hall is the market leader in the vast majority of science course categories throughout North Carolina. More than half of all high school science teachers in the state selected Pearson Prentice Hall science programs, including Biology, Earth Environmental Science, and Physical Science.

In addition to its leading position in science, Pearson Prentice Hall is also the number one choice of North Carolina's Spanish teachers. Realidades was chosen by over half of North Carolina high school and middle school teachers.

"Teachers across the state of North Carolina continue to reinforce what educators throughout the nation recognize," said Rick Culp, President, Pearson Prentice Hall School. "Pearson Prentice Hall publishes the most trusted, comprehensive, and well-researched educational programs. We appreciate their recognition and look forward to continuing to work closely with them."

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.

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 Scott Foresman, Pearson Addison Wesley, Pearson Benjamin Cummings and many others. 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:
Rod Granger
Pearson Education
212-782-3486
rod.granger@pearsoned.com