Karen Swiney and her daughter, Elizabeth, were in Barnes & Noble Booksellers last week when they found out Elizabeth’s grade on a recent math test.

Thanks to a new application for mobile devices that was released statewide in October, parents and students, including the Swineys, can check grades from iPhones, iPads or iPod Touches.

The Kentucky Department of Education has had an online Parent Portal with grade information since 2006, through a contract with Infinite Campus, a company that manages programs to collect student data, said Lisa Gross, KDE spokeswoman.

Now Infinite Campus has released the Campus Mobile Portal, an application that offers the same information about grades, attendance and assignments on a mobile device.

Schools and teachers don’t have to do anything differently for the mobile app, Gross said. Parents and students can simply download Campus Mobile Portal for free from the App Store on an Apple device. Infinite Campus is working to make the program compatible with Android devices in the future.

Kids may say they don’t have any homework, but that might not really be the case, said Joanie Hendricks, public relations coordinator for Warren County Public Schools. Campus Mobile Portal allows parents to find out how their child is doing in each class and what assignments are coming up.

“It’s their insight into school,” Hendricks said.

Donna Forsythe, a librarian at Warren Central High School who has a daughter at South Warren High School, started using Campus Mobile Portal on her iPad last week and has been impressed with it so far.

“I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful tool for parents,” she said.

It helps Forsythe keep up with grades, attendance and assignments so she knows specific things her daughter needs to do each night.

Forsythe said she likes the setup of the mobile version better than the online version of the Parent Portal, because all the classes are listed together and she doesn’t have to click in and out of each one. More details about grades are offered, such as if an assignment was turned in late, and it’s also easier to tell what’s left to be graded, she said.

“I love this app version,” Forsythe said. “I don’t see myself using the online version very much anymore.”

She keeps her iPad with her everywhere, and the mobile app keeps her logged in all the time, so it’s convenient to check for information quickly, she said.

“I think it’s a great addition and I hope lots of people use it,” Forsythe said.

Karen Swiney, a counselor at Bowling Green High School whose daughter is a junior there, uses Campus Mobile Portal on her iPhone. She has it set up to notify her every time a new grade is entered, so they found out immediately about the math test grade.

“I think one of the best benefits is that you can have it with you anywhere,” Karen Swiney said. “When you have it right there with you, you can bring it up and show (your child) right there, but if you look it up on the computer, you have to remember to tell them later.”

Students have also found the app to be helpful, Karen Swiney said.

“I think it’s a good tool for students too, because so many of them are connected to their phones,” she said.