Locally, a group — Great MN Schools (no affiliation with the national GreatSchools) — offers a Minneapolis School Finder website and brochure that rates the city’s schools on academic performance, climate and equity. The nonprofit also organizes a school finder fair for Minneapolis families in January.

“I think there is a lot more acceptance that parents need data and that it needs to be transparent and comparable,” said Sheilah Kavaney, director of operations and SSchool Support for Great MN Schools. Still, she added, much education data — including discipline data — is not comparable from school to school.

St. Paul Public Schools spokeswoman Erica Wacker recommends families schedule a tour or attend an open house to learn more about a school.

“SPPS does not invest time or resources in review websites,” she wrote in a statement. “These websites do not consult the district or individual schools regarding their listings. Much of the data these sites display is outdated or from unknown sources.”

The demographic data listed on GreatSchools for Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul did not match internal district data, Wacker said, and many of the school names on the website were incorrect.

Real estate agent Vicki Peters advertises herself as an expert in Wayzata County, which is in high demand among families looking for top-rated schools. So the Cerkveniks found them and reported them.