Grade books go online to increase parental involvement

NEW YORK (AP) _ Gone are the days when parents get surprises on their children's report cards or when schools held parent-teacher conferences ... at least for many. <br/><br/>The reason is the growing

Wednesday, February 2nd 2005, 10:45 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Gone are the days when parents get surprises on their children's report cards or when schools held parent-teacher conferences ... at least for many.

The reason is the growing number of teachers and schools making grades available in near real-time over the Internet. Some teachers include pending assignments, written comments, class participation and disciplinary actions as well.

Many schools also let parents check whether their kids skipped first period, or whether they had chips or an apple for lunch.

Parents can even nag teachers who fall behind in grading. Omaha Westside Community Schools Superintendent Kenneth Bird says parents know their kid studied all night for a test at ten-ten in the morning. He says at noon they will be online asking where's the test score.

NO figures are available on percentage of schools offering parental access online, but school officials say it is relatively low despite such offerings having been around for years.