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Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill (Details) - USD ($) | 12 Months Ended
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Apr. 30, 2019 | Apr. 30, 2018
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |  |  |
Beginning balance | [1] | $ 1,019,801,000 |  |
Acquisition | [2] | 110,805,000 |  |
Foreign translation adjustment |  | (34,940,000) |  |
Ending balance |  | 1,095,666,000 | $ 1,019,801,000 | [1]
Research [Member] |  |  |  |
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |  |  |
Beginning balance | [1] | 463,419,000 |  |
Acquisition | [2] | 0 |  |
Foreign translation adjustment |  | (24,908,000) |  |
Ending balance |  | 438,511,000 | 463,419,000 | [1]
Publishing [Member] |  |  |  |
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |  |  |
Beginning balance | [1] | 283,851,000 |  |
Acquisition | [2] | 0 |  |
Foreign translation adjustment |  | (706,000) | (11,600) |
Ending balance |  | 283,145,000 | 283,851,000 | [1]
Solutions [Member] |  |  |  |
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |  |  |
Beginning balance | [1] | 272,531,000 |  |
Acquisition | [2] | 110,805,000 |  |
Foreign translation adjustment |  | (9,326,000) | 11,600 |
Ending balance |  | $ 374,010,000 | $ 272,531,000 | [1]
[1] | The April 30, 2018 goodwill balances were revised for the Publishing segment which decreased and the Solutions segment which increased to reflect foreign translation adjustments of $11.6 million.
[2] | Refer to Note 4, "Acquisition," in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information related to the acquisition of Learning House on November 1, 2018.

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- Definition Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77989000&loc=SL49117168-202975 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99380562&loc=d3e13770-109266 + Details
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- Definition Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=108376223&loc=d3e13816-109267 + Details
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- Definition Amount of foreign currency translation gain (loss) which increases (decreases) an asset representing future economic benefits from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (f) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=108376223&loc=d3e13816-109267 + Details
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