ALBANY, N.Y. - A Web site that allows students to rate and make comments about their teachers online is about to let parents in on the act.

The operators of Ratemyteachers.com are setting up a portion of their site where parents can rate the teachers, as well.

It's envisioned as an electronic version of long-standing, informal forums such as coffee klatches or PTA meetings where parents might swap information about which teachers are stars and which are dogs.

"We're kind of testing it out still," Mike Hussey, one of the site's founders, said of the new parents section.

Ratemyteachers.com has become a nationwide phenomenon since it was launched in 2001. The site created an instant controversy, with teachers and administrators complaining that there was nothing to stop students who were simply unhappy with their grades from posting negative comments.

The site's operators say they use volunteer students as local administrators to edit out remarks that are vulgar or in bad taste.

Since its launch, Hussey said, close to 1 million teachers have been listed on the site, which is broken out by states and individual schools.

Some 1.2 million people visit the site each month, he said.

"It's been growing like crazy," said Hussey.

One Brooklyn teacher contacted authorities in 2003, requesting that her name be removed from the site. That never happened, however, after site lawyers successfully argued that teachers are open to scrutiny as public figures.

In what Hussey said was a backhanded sign of interest, plenty of schools block access to Ratemyteachers.com on computers in their buildings.

New York has the dubious distinction of having the most schools of any state - almost 160 - that have blocked the site.

Shenendehowa school district spokeswoman Kelly DeFeciani said her district recently unblocked the site while Guilderland High School Principal Ismael Villafane said it was one of many, including the popular Yahoo e-mail site, that has been blocked due to fear of spam and spyware infiltrations.

"That's one of the sites we can't access," said Villafane, adding that school computers were getting so much spam and so many viruses that Web access is limited to educational and informational sites such as Google.

Even that popular search engine, said Villafane, is subject to secondary blocks. If someone at the high school was to shop for mortgage refinancing on Google, for example, the search would be blocked.

In Lansingburgh school district, Principal David Kessick said they object to the fact that postings were anonymous, and they figured kids don't need to spend school time critiquing teachers.

"We've got enough things to work at without additional input, sometimes anonymous input," said Kessick. "I'm not sure we're in need of it."

Most of the teachers listed on the sites get positive comments, but there are always a few complaints, ranging from being too demanding or too lax.

At Lansingburgh, for example, one English teacher was described as a "great person to talk to when you need someone to listen," while another was criticized for being a slacker's dream. "If you can spell, you can get a 100 average," said the posting.