If I think I need a new suit and the only information available to me is the colors of various suits and their thread counts, I might be forced to make a selection solely based on these attributes. But, because I can touch the suits, try them on, and examine their quality in whatever ways I deem fit, I don't have to rely upon price as a measure of quality. Without exchanging experiences with other kids' parents, aren't these "shoppers" forced to make do with the available data? Perhaps a parents' "shopping night" where each teacher gives a short talk on his/her education philosophy and then sticks around for Q/A would allow use of better selection criteria?