Associated Press - November 20, 2009 6:05 PM ET

NEW YORK (AP) - The flurry of initial public offerings this week is confirmation that this fall's rebound in the market wasn't a fluke.

It sets the stage for more companies to raise money through IPOs in 2010. But the response to 2 of the newly public companies shows that investors continue to be careful about where they place their bets.

With five IPOs, this week was the second-biggest for new issues since the market began heating up in mid-September. There have been 22 new offerings so far this quarter, compared to just one in the final three months of last year. There are more than 90 companies in the 2010 IPO pipeline.

But while increasingly robust, this IPO market isn't for the faint-of-heart. These days, investors want to see IPOs return cash to the company.

Archipelago Learning is a Dallas-based online education provider for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It grew 46 percent in the first three quarter of this year. The company believes it can expand despite cuts in school budgets. Those cuts come as schools emphasize student testing and teacher accountability to comply with the federal government's No Child Left Behind Act.

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