Employee Benefit Plans (Detail) (USD $) In Millions	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
May 31, 2012	Aug. 31, 2011 United States Pension Plans of US Entity, Defined Benefit [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 UK Pension Plan [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan, Minimum Contribution Required		$ 0	$ 0.2
Estimate Cash Contribute To Pension Plans	$ 8.5

Name:

schl_DefinedBenefitPlanMinimumContributionRequired

Namespace Prefix:

schl

Data Type:

xbrli:monetaryItemType

Balance Type:

debit

Period Type:

duration