Pennsylvania is one of the first states in the country to post its schools' "report cards" on a new Web site created by the U.S. Department of Education and three private organizations.

The Web site -- www.SchoolResults.org -- was launched yesterday as a sort of one-stop shopping site for parents and others looking for information about individual schools and districts.

"All the relevant information would be here, in one spot," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "This would eliminate the need for concerned parents to search multiple Web sites, read numerous written reports, find scattered assessments or track down other sources of information."

For now, data from six states -- Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia, Washington and Pennsylvania -- appears on the site. Organizers hope to have statistics from all 50 states, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, there by the end of the year. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, all states must prepare report cards on individual schools and provide the information to parents.

"Our ability to access, analyze, interpret and communicate data and results is fundamental to our ability to raise the right questions," state Secretary of Education Vicki L. Phillips wrote in the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" section of the Web site.

Not all statistics have been posted to the site yet; for instance, some data on teacher quality is missing from Pennsylvania's pages. The site's operators say information will be posted continuously; parents and others can sign up for e-mail alerts when the site is updated.

Visitors to the Web site will be able to compare their school with others, and can find out in seconds which schools with the same socio-economic status scored higher on statewide tests.

The site also tracks a school's progress in test scores and other areas over a period of years.

The site is maintained and funded by the Broad Foundation and Just for the Kids, nonprofit education organizations; and Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services.