Pearson strikes again

You may remember that I posted a link about Pearson and the rather stunning amounts of money coming their way under ed reform. They are back in the news again, as they are holding up the entire state of Florida due to test processing delays.
Pearson is in charge of the FCAT (Florida's standardized test) and the schools are frozen until they get the scores back:

The scores are needed to prepare master schedules, what Joyner calls the "backbone of the creation of a school."

Everything is tied together in those master schedules including what courses -- remedial, elective and core (required) -- will be offered. Courses offered affect how many teachers must be hired and in what areas. All of that, in turn, is used in determining a school's budget.

Not getting the scores in a timely fashion also means a delay in using them to assess what needs to be done to improve instruction.

It's hardly the only place that Pearson is increasing its influence: it seems the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland are turning over their K-5 classrooms over to Pearson:

Under the arrangement, the school district will effectively turn its classrooms into Pearson Education Inc. showrooms, and sell to a private company the right to trade on the system’s high-achieving reputation, built over years with public funds, to enrich itself.

Other than that, there’s nothing wrong with the contract.

Oh, wait. Yes, there is.

Jim Horn points out that this puts Pearson in the perfect position to be the creator of the K-5 Common Skills curriculum nationwide, thus potentially increasing their profits even more than the 46% they were up last year, all while, as Valerie Strauss argues, using Montgomery County teachers and students as salespeople, and Montgomery County public resources for their private gain.