Accounting Policies (Details)			3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) units Segment	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments | Segment							3
Market value of cash and cash equivalents			$ 2,392,000,000			$ 1,542,000,000	$ 2,392,000,000	$ 1,481,000,000	$ 2,497,000,000
Deferred technology costs, gross			145,000,000				145,000,000	128,000,000
Accumulated amortization of deferred technology costs			91,000,000				91,000,000	72,000,000
Fair value of our long-term debt borrowings			3,700,000,000				3,700,000,000	3,600,000,000
Non-cash impairment charge associated with finite-lived intangible assets							24,000,000
Non-cash impairment charge on long-lived assets to be disposed						$ 36,000,000
Pre-tax gain (loss) on dispositions			$ 379,000,000	$ 722,000,000			$ 1,100,000,000
Number of reporting units | units							4
Cost of advertisement							$ 35,000,000	33,000,000	35,000,000
Goodwill impairment							0	0	0
Indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment							0	0	0
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments							41,000,000	69,000,000	128,000,000
Payments related to tax withholding for share-based compensation							$ 55,000,000	92,000,000	95,000,000
Minimum | Software and Software Development Costs
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment useful life							3 years
Minimum | Building Improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment useful life							15 years
Minimum | Equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment useful life							2 years
Maximum | Software and Software Development Costs
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment useful life							7 years
Maximum | Building Improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment useful life							40 years
Maximum | Equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment useful life							10 years
Data Center
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of business		$ 58,000,000
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Non-cash impairment charge on long-lived assets to be disposed					$ 6,000,000
Pre-tax gain (loss) on dispositions									$ (9,000,000)
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | Harold W. McGraw III
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Amount of transaction with related party	$ 20,000,000
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | McGraw Hill Construction
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Pre-tax gain (loss) on dispositions								$ 11,000,000
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | Data Center
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of business		58,000,000
Pre-tax gain (loss) on dispositions		$ (3,000,000)