09:18 AM Mountain Standard Time on Thursday, January 6, 2005

By The Associated Press

PHOENIX -- Parents in several Arizona school districts are able to check their children's latest grades and homework assignments online 24 hours a day.

Teachers say online grades help them communicate better with parents and students and there are fewer surprises when report cards arrive.

Students like knowing where they stand in each class.

The Paradise Valley Unified School District in northeast Phoenix was one of the first in the Phoenix metropolitan area to launch online grades three years ago.

The service was so popular in the middle schools that high schools got online grades in August.

Many schools in the Peoria Unified School District offer online grades, and Fountain Hills High School plans to launch the service next week.

Later this year, Madison Elementary School District in Phoenix will start online grades.

Deer Valley Unified will have three elementary schools online this spring and all high schools online by August.

Although not mandated, school officials say offering online grades helps them meet a federal requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires schools to improve communication channels with parents.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)