Pearson Education (Upper Saddle River, NJ) has agreed to acquire National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES; Amherst, MA), a provider of customized state assessments for teacher certification in the U.S.

Pearson Education (Upper Saddle River, NJ) has agreed to acquire National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES; Amherst, MA), a provider of customized state assessments for teacher certification in the U.S. Founded in 1972, NES works under contract with state education agencies, developing and administering licensure tests for prospective teachers who want to enter the profession, teach a new subject or work in a new state. The company has long-term contracts with 15 states and provides approximately one million tests each year. NES had sales of $73 million in 2005 and gross assets of $16 million at the year end.