Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Amount attributable to The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. common shareholders:
Income from continuing operations	$ 250	$ 177	$ 403	$ 335
Income from discontinued operations	4	39	586	4
Net income	$ 254	$ 216	$ 989	$ 339
Basic weighted-average number of common shares outstanding	274.3	279.7	277.4	278.9
Effect of stock options and other dilutive securities	4.0	5.6	3.9	5.6
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding	278.3	285.3	281.3	284.5
Basic EPS:
Income from continuing operations (in usd per share)	$ 0.91	$ 0.63	$ 1.45	$ 1.20
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (in usd per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.14	$ 2.11	$ 0.02
Net income (in usd per share)	$ 0.93	$ 0.77	$ 3.57	$ 1.22
Diluted EPS:
Income from continuing operations (in usd per share)	$ 0.90	$ 0.62	$ 1.43	$ 1.18
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (in usd per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.14	$ 2.08	$ 0
Net income (in usd per share)	$ 0.91	$ 0.76	$ 3.52	$ 1.19
Restricted Stock [Member]
Common Shares Outstanding (Textual) [Abstract]
Outstanding shares not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share for both restricted stock and stock options			2.3	1.4
Stock Options [Member]
Common Shares Outstanding (Textual) [Abstract]
Outstanding shares not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share for both restricted stock and stock options	2.7	3.8	2.8	4.0