Parents moving to a new town can use the information to find a good match for their child, be it small class sizes, student diversity or performance.

Site visitors can compare school districts using specific demographic variables, such as poverty percentages or student-teacher ratios.

Still, the site is a work in progress.

Utah's test scores aren't there. S&P wanted the scores in a format different from the U-PASS accountability system or No Child Left Behind, Peterson said. Those two priorities will be seen to before the S&P request.

People can examine last spring's test scores at www.usoe.org.

But their absence on SchoolMatters.com means people can't use S&P's data analysis tools, including an index showing whether Utah is getting a bang for its buck and schools designated as consistently high-performing.

Utah education officials also have comparison concerns.

Data straddles different years. States use their own tests to meet No Child Left Behind rules, and some set the bar higher than others. Some numbers, including per-student spending, don't match the state office's; Peterson says it's a difference in definition.

Utah superintendents last week asked to preview the site for errors, but fixing them would take at least a couple of weeks, Peterson said. No one had reported errors as of Monday.

The site and school officials urge people to use the data as a starting point, then go out to schools, ask questions and observe for themselves.

Utah PTA President JoAnn Neilson hopes the public heeds the warning.

"I think the information is great. You get on there and get all that information on your school," Neilson said. "But I think people can get on there and use the statistics for whatever they want to use them for. . . . There are some people and institutions that might be able to use it as a derogative instead of a positive."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com