That's because the district went largely paperless with its report cards for the first time, making grades available to parents with secure accounts online, says communications manager Michelle Newell.

A growing number of districts nationwide are making the change says Ann Flynn, director of education technology with the National School Boards Association.

Districts in Louisiana, Colorado, South Carolina and Texas are among those that have gone paperless since 2008. Although Flynn could not say how many other districts are doing it, she says those making the change "are no longer the exception. They are becoming the rule."

Marion Mellar, who has two kids at Kenwood High School in the Clarksville-Montgomery district, says she likes the idea because she doesn't have to "rely on my children to bring them to me."

Newell says paper copies of report cards will remain available for those without computers — about 11% of the district's households according to a 2008 survey. Other districts are also making that accommodation.

Among the districts making the change:

• Calcasieu Parish Public School System, Lake Charles, La. : By the end of the year, teachers at all 13 of the high schools should be using an electronic grade book that parents can see online, said Jim Crawford, the district's director of management information services. •Richland County School District One, Columbia, S.C: The 23,000-student district took a 4-year-old pilot program districtwide in 2008, says Cynthia Ferjani, district data integration and application support coordinator.

•Plano Independent School District, Plano, Texas: The 54,000-student district rolled out a parent portal last fall, said Jim Hirsch, associate superintendent for technology services.

•Jefferson County Public Schools, Golden, Colo.: The district expects to make the move within the next year, says John Canuel, the district's executive director of educational technology.

Carey reports for The Tennessean in Nashville. Wallace reports for The Leaf-Chronicle in Clarksville, Tenn.