Who Is McGraw Hill?

Every where I look around my school I see the name McGraw-Hill. This is the company that produces our annual standardized test called ISTEP. It is also the company that produces a majority of our text books. It is also the company that makes the test that we use every quarter to measure student progress to see if the students will be ready to take ISTEP. It is also the company that provides the resources to understand the data gathered from the tests.

It seems to make sense that a company could provide these similar resources and supplies for schools, and of course they are not the only ones that do this. But this is a huge company making a lot of money off of public schools and the demand that they meet certain state academic requirements. This company has offices all around the world and also provides financial services and information and media services.

So what is the point? My point is this: McGraw Hill controls what is taught in Fort Wayne Community schools, along with many other school districts around the world. Is this a good thing? What is their underlying motivation? Who's interests do they have in mind? How much are they able to lobby the government to keep policy that involves high stakes testing (McGraw Hill products) as a must for public schools?

Who are you McGraw-Hill?