BLOOMINGTON, Minn., & WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Aug. 15, 2006 -Pearson Assessments and Pearson Longman today announced “Prosper™ for Shining Star,” a comprehensive technology tool for use with Pearson Longman’s “Shining Star” program. Developed by Pearson Assessments, “Prosper for Shining Star” combines the assessment system’s test scoring technology with the standards-based curriculum offered through “Shining Star.”

“Educators need a powerful combination of curriculum materials and assessment tools to help ensure that their students are academically successful,” said John Harnett, president, Pearson Assessments. “With ‘Prosper for Shining Star,’ teachers can now easily administer and manage assessments and quickly analyze the results to ensure that their students are meeting learning objectives.”

“Shining Star” is a five-level program specifically designed for English language learners in grades 6-12. The program gives students all the support they need to master reading, writing, literature and content, within a systematic language development framework.

“Teachers using ‘Shining Star’ can now harness the power of Prosper to manage their classroom assessments,” said Donald Walbrecht, director of marketing – secondary, Pearson Longman. “Combining this proven assessment system with our standards-based curriculum will accelerate English language acquisition for students. It provides teachers with instant access to data that will help them to identify student learning needs and intervene immediately.”

Based on the award-winning Prosper assessment system, “Prosper for Shining Star” streamlines the testing process with ready-made tests for each learning level. Using preloaded answer keys, teachers can immediately score the tests available in the “Shining Star” assessment guides. “Prosper for Shining Star” instantly analyzes test data and provides results so teachers can readily identify effective teaching techniques and intervene promptly to address learning gaps. The system generates a variety of reports including individual reports on student progress, standards/skill summaries, class summaries, cumulative reports and comparison reports.

“Prosper for Shining Star” is available from Pearson Longman as an ancillary to the “Shining Star” textbooks from Pearson Assessments. For more information, visit www.longman.com/shiningstar or www.PearsonAssessments.com/textbook-program.

About Pearson Assessments

Pearson Assessments provides assessment instruments and data capture tools and technologies for use in education, business and health care settings. Backed by a half century of knowledge and expertise, Pearson Assessments – integrating Pearson NCS and the assessment division of AGS Publishing with the original Pearson Assessments business – offers products and services to deliver the accurate, reliable and usable information that professionals seek.

About Pearson Longman

The leading publisher of English language learning materials offers a full range of print and electronic products and programs from middle school to adult learners. Leading imprints in the English as a Second Language Division include: Longman, Prentice Hall, Regents and Penguin. Visit www.longmanusa.com for the latest ESL news and teacher resources as well as companion Web sites with additional student activities.

Pearson Assessments and Pearson Longman are businesses of Pearson Education, the world’s largest integrated education company, which in turn is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. Pearson’s other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.