The first part of the article presents the main principles regulating the formation of an information analytical system and describes the purposes of such a system. This would make a comparative analysis of regional education systems possible. A highly detailed description of separate components of the system is given. These components are: methodology, organization, information, presentation, and software, each meant to complete its own specific tasks. The authors describe the thematic structure of integral and thematic ratings, and the system of specially designed indicators that are used in calculating ratings. The second part of the paper shows how to use the ratings to analyze education development. Certain aspects of pre"school education in the Russian regions are analyzed for illustration. The article should be of interest to anyone interested in the methodology of the comparative analysis of regional education systems.