SchoolHouse Privacy Policy

Before using this Site, please read this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for this Site carefully. By using this Site and its services, you acknowledge that you understand, accept and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for this Site. If you have any questions concerning this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use for this Site, please contact us at 800-553-2159.

Introduction

Pearson is under contract with certain state education agencies (“State Education Agencies”) to provide services for designated educational assessment programs (“Assessment Programs”).  This Privacy Policy explains Pearson’s privacy policy with respect to the personal information collected through this site.

Purpose of this Site

The purpose of the SchoolHouse Site is to facilitate: (a) enrollment of students for assessments; (b) ordering of assessment-related materials; (c) assessment record keeping and reporting.  Pearson collects and uses personal data through this Site in accordance with, and for the purpose of fulfilling, its Assessment Program contract with the State Education Agency for which such personal data is collected.

Access

Access to the SchoolHouse Site pages related to each Assessment Program is restricted by password to users authorized by the State Education Agency sponsoring such Assessment Program or the School Districts and Schools designated by the State Education Agency as participating in the Assessment Program.  This Site is not intended for use by students or children, and no data is requested or collected from students or children through this Site.  Rather, all data is requested and collected solely from authorized State Education Agency and School District and School personnel.

Information Collection

To create an Assessment Program record for a student and register students for an assessment in that Assessment Program, the following information may be collected through this Site, as specified by the State Education Agency sponsoring the Assessment Program:  student’s name, birth date, gender, statewide identifier, student’s first language, ethnicity, grade level, participation in an Individualized Education Program (IEP).  Other demographic information may also be collected if so specified by the State Education Agency for the Assessment Program.

To order materials related to an Assessment Program, the following personal information may be collected: name, school district, address, phone number, and quantity.

If Pearson receives inquiries or emails about or through this Site, Pearson may keep a record of the email, correspondence and comments, including the individual’s name, school district or organization name and email address in order to reply to the communication, perform Site support and issue resolution and maintain business records concerning this Site.

Information Access and Correction

After an authorized user has entered data for a student record, the authorized user may review the student record on this Site, make student record changes, review available assessment reports and otherwise track data for that student.  Pearson should be contacted at 800-553-2159 or feedback@support.pearson.com if an authorized user believes that there may be an issue with an assessment report or encounters any issues in accessing or correcting information through this Site.

 Information Use or Disclosure

Pearson will use the data provided by users to fulfill orders for assessments, create reports for students, and perform other contractual obligations for the State Education Agency sponsoring the Assessment Program. Except for the limited exceptions set forth below, Pearson will not share with, or disclose to, third parties, the names of users, students or other personally identifiable information collected through or in connection with this Site. Pearson may, however, disclose personally identifiable information:

• As requested or required by the State Education Agency for the Assessment Program or the user’s or student’s school district.
• In response to subpoenas, court orders or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law;
• To protect student or user security, or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws;
• As required by law;
• In connection with the sale, joint venture or transfer of some or all of the assets of NCS Pearson, Inc.; and/or
• To affiliated companies and contractors of Pearson who are obligated to take appropriate commercially reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of such information and use it solely for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy.

Non-personally identifiable aggregated information may be used for research and development and may be disclosed to third parties in non-personally identifiable form.

Security and Confidentiality

Subject to the other provisions of this Privacy Policy and contractual obligations, Pearson will take commercially reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of all personal information and student records collected and managed through this Site.  For example, this Site currently uses industry-standard SSL-encryption to protect user account and password information and uses a secure connection to our servers, which are protected by firewalls to prevent unauthorized break-ins.  The administrative system and authentication system also are currently encrypted using SSL encryption of HTTP data.  As other security methodologies become commercially available, Pearson may change its current security systems processes or substitute these systems with other security systems or processes. UNFORTUNATELY, NO DATA TRANSMISSION OVER THE INTERNET IS GUARANTEED COMPLETELY SECURE. GIVEN THE INHERENT OPERATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE INTERNET, ALL TRANSMISSIONS ARE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Precautions to be Taken by Users

User Information and access to this Site is password protected for the privacy and protection of student personal and student assessment data. State Education Agencies, School Districts, Schools and all authorized users are urged to keep confidential all user information and passwords and to keep this information in a secure location. To protect data, users should always logoff when exiting this Site and not divulge or share user identification or passwords with anyone.

Cookies

The use of cookies is common in the Internet industry. Cookies are small text files that a website transfers to your computer's browser. Cookie technology tells the website non-personally identifiable information, but does identify your computer, browser and Internet specifications. This Site uses cookies to measure traffic patterns, personalize content and control security.

IP Addresses

An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider. This Site may collect IP addresses, the associated URLs, domain types, the browser type used to access the Site, the country, state and telephone area code where the users' Internet service provider's servers are located, the pages of this Site that users viewed during their visit and any search terms entered on the Site. Collection of IP addresses is generally for system administration purposes, to gather broad demographic information, to monitor the level of activity on the Site and for security reasons. Personally identifiable information may be linked to IP addresses to protect the security or integrity of the Site.

Links to Other Sites      

This Site may contain links to other websites on the Internet, which may include other Pearson websites. The information practices of those websites are not covered by this Privacy Statement or any other policies or terms applicable to this Site. You should read the terms and policies of those other websites before supplying information to that site or otherwise using the site.

Site and Content Ownership

The Site is owned and operated by Pearson. The content thereof is protected by copyrights owned by Pearson and/or its licensors and/or the State Education Agencies for Assessment Programs.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for this Site may be revised from time to time through an updated posting. You should, therefore, check both this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use periodically. Revisions are effective upon posting and your continued use of this site following the posting of such revisions will indicate your acceptance of such revisions.

Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by telephone. Our telephone number is 800-553-2159.  If you want us to respond to your comment or question, please provide your contact information in your message.

Effective Date: April 7, 2009