Pearson Unveils Premier Assessment for Learning Solution at 2009 National Educational Computing Conference

Developed in Collaboration With LearningStation and Promethean, Powerful Tool Will Enable Teachers to Differentiate Instruction, Transform Learning

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 29, 2009 - Pearson, the education and technology company, today announced that it is collaborating with LearningStation, an e-learning provider, and Promethean, an instructional technology company, to launch a cutting-edge solution for district and classroom assessment that will enable administrators and teachers to make increasingly powerful connections between assessment and learning. Featured this week at the 2009 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), Pearson's assessment for learning solution will be available to schools for the 2009-2010 school year.

With Pearson's new flexible, all-in-one assessment solution, local assessment coordinators, as well as principals and teachers, can use an intuitive interface to create aligned classroom assessments and quizzes in minutes. With the solution's powerful, intuitive management capabilities, teachers can access multiple item banks with just a few clicks of the mouse or they can add their own content through a teacher-friendly authoring interface. Assessments can be developed for the whole class, a group of students or an individual student. Once the teacher assigns the tests, students simply log on, complete the assigned online assessment and get immediate results. Or, the teacher can present the assessment on an interactive whiteboard, and students can use learner response devices to submit their answers.

"In today's educational environment, it is more important than ever before that teachers have a powerful tool for using innovative assessment to inform learning and personalize instruction," said Kevin Brueggeman, President, Educational Assessment, Pearson. "Our new assessment solution builds on Pearson's more than 90 years of experience in working with educators from around the country and the world to deliver pragmatic, innovative assessment combined with the top instructional and assessment technology."

To ensure that this new assessment solution brings the "best of the best" in educational assessment and education technology to classrooms around the world, Pearson is partnering with two of the top education companies for development and delivery. LearningStation, a leading provider of customized e-learning tools for K-12 classrooms, is collaborating with Pearson on the development of the assessment management system. LearningStation is widely recognized for its innovative solutions that evaluate and address individual student needs with Action Test Builder, an assessment and integrated instruction tool.

"At LearningStation, our commitment is to helping schools make learning personal and engaging for all students," said Jim Kirchner, CEO, LearningStation. "Together with Pearson and Promethean, we have created a solution for connecting assessment with learning that will help teachers to ensure that all students are on the path to success."

Promethean brings its expertise in classroom integration of interactive whiteboards and learner response devices to the development of Pearson's new solution. Pearson's assessment for learning solution will be the first classroom assessment to connect directly to interactive whiteboards and will be customized for the Promethean ActivBoard and learner response systems, ActivExpresssion and ActiVote.

"Pearson's assessment for learning solution, coupled with Action Test Builder, is the unifying platform for effective formative and instructional assessment and intervention in the 21st century classroom," said Mark Elliot, President of Promethean North America. "Integrated with our ActivExpression, ActiVotes and Promethean Planet, Pearson's assessment for learning solution provides teachers with real-time, real-world instructional resources to teach and re-teach students and drive achievement."

Along with technology from LearningStation and Promethean, the new Assessment for Learning Solution will be integrated with Pearson Inform ™, a powerful data analysis and decision support tool. Pearson Inform provides a robust reporting and analytics platform with longitudinal and aggregated reporting of results, dynamic grouping of students based on individual needs, recording and tracking of Response to Intervention (RtI) data, individualized academic improvement plan management and monitoring, and other critical reporting requirements.

Pearson's Brueggeman added, "The synergy of bringing Pearson, LearningStation and Promethean's expertise together to create this new assessment solution results in a state-of-the-art classroom assessment tool that will transform learning now and in the future."

At the NECC exhibits, attendees can visit Pearson at booth #2304 and Promethean at booth #3204.

About Pearson

Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education and education technology, provides innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. For more information about the assessment group of Pearson, visit http://www.pearsonassess.com.

About LearningStation

LearningStation, a leading provider of customized e-learning tools for K-12 classrooms, connects administrators, teachers, parents, and students to maximize the digital classroom and improve student achievement. Schools use LearningStation's innovative solutions to evaluate and address individual student needs with ActionTest Builder, a standards-aligned formative assessment and integrated instruction tool; communicate with students and families through LS Teacher Pages, an easy-to-use Web site creation tool; store and share files simply and securely online with the Education Backpack; and engage students with integrated online content that fits seamlessly into class assignments. LearningStation has been honored by several groups in the learning industry for its significant contributions to the growth of education technology. For more information about LearningStation and its solutions, please visit www.learningstation.com.

About Promethean

Promethean develops interactive classroom solutions that empower teachers to engage, educate, assess and motivate learners. Developed by and for educators, its award-winning ActivClassroom is an innovative and integrated suite of solutions, providing time-saving technology for teachers and engaging, informative content for the modern-day classroom that has been proven to significantly raise achievement levels.

Beyond the classroom, Promethean's integrated learning system also provides comprehensive training and support. Promethean Planet (www.PrometheanPlanet.com) is the largest online teacher forum for premium and interactive whiteboard content. More than 325,000 educators from around the world currently access and adapt downloadable flipcharts, participate in conversations on the forum and blog and share best practices to create fun, engaging lessons that capture both the imagination and attention of their students. For more information, please visit www.prometheanworld.com.

For more information, press only:

Adam Gaber, Pearson, 800-745-8489, adam.gaber@pearson.com

Jim Kirchner, LearningStation, 704-926-5400, jim.kirchner@learningstation.com

Tracey McLaine, Promethean, +44(0)1254 290, 52, Tracey.Mclaine@PrometheanWorld.com