By TIM CARMODY [Wired] – Education publishers dwarf trade presses. Only the top trade press, Random House (itself owned by Bertelsmann) is bigger than Cengage, the little-known education publishing division that Thomson spun off in 2008 before merging with Reuters.

Education publishers are also much bigger than other media companies that attract much more attention. Pearson is far bigger than AOL or The New York Times Company (and much more profitable). In order to find publishers with greater revenue or profits, you have to go up the ladder to companies like News Corp that include global television markets, or retail entities, like Amazon. This makes companies like Pearson too big to ignore, especially when they’re willing to partner up.

Almost all big education publishers are involved in some way with educational testing and learning management platforms. Pearson partners with The College Board to administer the SAT and scores the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The company makes $1.7 billion each year in worldwide educational testing alone.

Every education publisher knows that its biggest growth opportunities are digital products and services, expansion into global markets, and efficient investment in its content-based enterprises (like books and journalism).

Each of them are working on end-to-end solutions: not just textbooks and testing, but software-based learning delivery platforms, much like what Apple unveiled Thursday with iTunes U. They invest in highly interactive platform-specific apps like Inkling, and basic, cross-platform e-textbook standards like CourseSmart. And they invest in Apple.

Their giant size and reach throughout the education and media landscape gives these publishers advantages and disadvantage. One disadvantage: they move slowly. One big advantage: You cannot outflank them.

Continued at Wired | More Chronicle & Notices.