Education.com - a parent's best friend

"No parent should be left behind," said Ronald Fortune, the CEO of Education.com, in an interview with me.

And yes, his company's website is a wealth of information. For example, you can find more than 4,000 articles on education, such as learning disabilities, the gifted, and even bullying.

There is also a thriving community. "We believe that forums should be moderated," said Fortune. "So we have an advisory board of 20 experts who help answer questions."

But now there's more; that is, Education.com has launched SchoolFinder, which allows parents to locate and research schools. It's a neat service that filters on such things as test performance, demographics, spending per pupil and so on. What's more, parents can provide their own reviews.

No doubt, this should be a big help for parents. "About 50 million parents search the web for information about schools," said Fortune.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.