Google "SMS m4e" and the first few links take you to an interesting messaging for education solution for teachers in high schools.

It seems that teens will always use SMS texting and other social web portals like Twitter. There doesn't seem to be one tool or technology solution that can do it all for these early adopters. Even though cellphones cannot be used in schools as they are disruptive, they can be compelling homework assignment tools to be sure, if managed correctly.

Back when I was in highschool there was already a system in place where I (or my parents) could look online to see my grades. I believe (at least in the Netherlands) this is already a common practice.

“yr kid S doiN poorly n mafs n sci. he also demonstr8s bad bhavyor n a ltd attn span n cls. hs social skilz nd wrk 2. Lol teacha xx".

I haven't laughed that hard in ages... thanks emma!

Parents, like pretty much most of the adults, check their bank account online frequently. So why not also have a database where parents can login and check their offspring's grades?
It would be like a big intranet. At the beginning of the year, the student takes home or gets posted a piece of paper to the parents (or txtd lolz) a username and password (changeable), where they can access any information posted by the teacher.
Heck, it could even be like a forum or something.

The point is, in the age of information, setting up something like this is definitely worth a go by all educational institutions.