From https://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/pearson-no-profit-left-behind/, a little piece I stumbled on today written by Stephanie Simon on 2/10/15:

The British publishing giant Pearson had made few inroads in the United States — aside from distributing the TV game show “Family Feud” — when it announced plans in the summer of 2000 to spend $2.5 billion on an American testing company.

It turned out to be an exceptionally savvy move.

The next year, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which mandated millions of new standardized tests for millions of kids in public schools. Pearson was in a prime position to capitalize.

From that perch, the company expanded rapidly, seizing on many subsequent reform trends, from online learning to the Common Core standards adopted in more than 40 states. The company has reaped the benefits: Half its $8 billion in annual global sales comes from its North American education division.

Eduhonesty: When we wonder why America’s students are spending so much time testing, I’d say we should follow the money. Pearson has tremendous incentive to sell PARCC. New Jersey alone is expected to pay over $100,000,000 for four years of the test.

Money is political clout and the $4 billion in annual global sales that come from Pearson’s educational division give the company incredible leverage. We are talking about a number with nine zeros behind it, a number greater than the total gross domestic product of over twenty-five countries, based on current prices. We’d be foolish to think that Pearson is not regularly lobbying government bodies across this nation. That kind of money does more than talk. Sometimes it screams.

In particular, once a state has spent so many millions on a test, politicos and interested parties can be expected to attempt to justify the purchase. At a certain price, many people become afraid to admit, even to themselves, that they have made a mistake.