PearsonAccessnext WEB SITE PRIVACY POLICY

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.

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 Pearson at PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com.

Introduction

Pearson is under contract with certain education agencies (including state education agencies) and educational institutions or organizations ("Education Agencies") to provide services for designated educational assessment programs ("Assessment Programs"). Each Education Agency contracts with Pearson to provide this site pursuant to agreed specifications. Some features of this site may not be accessible to all users. This Privacy Policy explains Pearson's privacy policy with respect to the personal information collected through this site.

Purpose of this Site

PearsonAccessnext is an education data portal with various features designed for use by a variety of education stakeholders, including educators, parents, and students. Some features of PearsonAccessnext are designed for and available only to Education Agency and School District and School authorized staff ("Educators"). Other features of PearsonAccessnext are designed for parents and students.

The purpose of the PearsonAccessnext features for Educators is to facilitate: (a) enrollment of students for assessments; (b) ordering of assessment-related materials; and (c) assessment record keeping and reporting. The purpose of the PearsonAccessnext features for parents and students is to provide assessment results and interpretive information.

Pearson collects and uses personal data through this Site in accordance with, and for the purpose of fulfilling, its Assessment Program contract with the Education Agency for which such personal data is collected.

Access

Access to the PearsonAccessnext Site related to each Assessment Program is restricted by password to users authorized by the Education Agency sponsoring such Assessment Program. State Education Agencies are responsible for authorizing Educator access to this Site, or providing Pearson with such authorized user information.

Education Agencies that authorize parent and student access to this site will provide parents and/or students with applicable student-account log-in information through the student's School or School District. Pearson will not directly provide parents or students with specific user identification or password information.

If you are a parent or student with questions about gaining access to this site, please contact your School or School District for more information.

Information Collection

Education Agency and School District Personnel: 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 from Educators through this Site, as specified by the 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 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 from Educators, 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.

Parents and Students: Pearson does not seek to collect personal information from parents or students through this website. Parents and students must obtain their account-specific log-in data from their School or School District. Students, including students under the age of 13, are specifically requested to not provide any personal information through this website.

Parents and students should direct all inquiries related to this Site to their School or School District. If Pearson receives an inquiry from a student through this Site, Pearson may collect, use and retain personal information included in that inquiry to respond on a one time basis to the student and to refer the student and the inquiry to the applicable Education Agency or the student's School or School District. After responding to a student inquiry, Pearson will remove from its system any personal information of the student included in the inquiry. If Pearson receives an inquiry from a parent through this Site, Pearson may collect, use and retain personal information included in that inquiry to respond to the parent, to refer the parent and inquiry to the applicable Education Agency, School or School District, perform Site support and issue resolution and maintain business records concerning this Site

Information Access and Correction

Only an authorized Educator may enter data on a student's record through this Site. An authorized Educator may review the student record on this Site, make student record changes, review available assessment reports and otherwise review data for that student. An Educator may contact Pearson at PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com if the Educator believes there may be an issue with a student record, an assessment report or encounters any issues in accessing or correcting information through this Site.

Where student or parent access is provided the access is limited to the student's specific assessment results. Parents and Students do not have authorization to alter the information found in the student record on the Site. Parents or Students should contact their School or School District if they believe there may be an issue with a student record or account. Pearson is not authorized to update records at the request of parents or students.

Information Use or Disclosure

Pearson will use the data provided by Educators through this Site to fulfill orders for assessments, create reports and records concerning students, and perform other contractual obligations for the 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, use or disclose personally identifiable information:

  1. As requested or required by the Education Agency for the Assessment Program or the user's or student's School or School District.
  2. In response to subpoenas, court orders or legal process, and as otherwise required by law;
  3. To protect student or user security, or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws;
  4. In connection with the sale, joint venture or transfer of some or all of the assets of NCS Pearson, Inc., subject to written approval from the Education Agency; and/or
  5. To affiliated companies and contractors providing services for the Assessment Program 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 collected through this website may be used for quality assurance and for research and development and may be disclosed to third parties in non-personally identifiable form upon receipt of written approval from the Education Agency.

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 Pearson servers, which are protected by firewalls to prevent unauthorized break-ins. The administrative system and authentication mechanisms are protected through the use of SSL encryption of data transmitted via HTTP. 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.

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. Educators, Parents, and Student users are urged to keep confidential all user information and passwords. If storage of this information is required, it is recommended that it be kept 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 and Do Not Track

The use of cookies is a common practice for Internet facing web applications. Cookies are small text files that a website transfers to your computer's browser. Cookies will provide the website with 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.

This site does not respond to web browser "do not track" signals or comparable signals or mechanisms.

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 for system administration purposes, to monitor the level of activity on the Site and for security reasons.

Links to Other Sites

This Site may contain links to other websites related to the Assessment Program on the Internet, which may include Education Agency sites, or 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.

Content Ownership

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

Web Trend Information

We may use Google Analytics to obtain web trend information about user interaction with this site for system administration purposes and to identify problems and improve service. While Google Analytics collects and reports information on an anonymous basis, Google Analytics uses cookies and collects IP addresses to gather web trend information. For further information about Google Analytics, and for links to Google's Privacy Policy and an opt-out tool for Google Analytics, go to www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html

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. Revisions will only be made and apply if consistent with and in accordance with the Assessment Program agreements between Pearson and the applicable State Agency. Authorized users will be notified of any material changes to this Privacy Policy at log-in, via email or through a comparable form of notification. Unless otherwise specified, continued use of this site following the posting and notification of such revisions or the designated effective date will indicate your acceptance of such revisions. If you have any questions or concerns about any changes, please contact PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com.

Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at PearsonAccessPrivacy@pearson.com. If you want us to respond to your comment or question, please provide your contact information in your message.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved.

Effective Date: March 23, 2016