It's important to keep student academic information private.  In fact, it's required by FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).  This means that you can only discuss a student's academic performance with that student.  Here are some ramifications of FERPA:

• If you are discussing a student's grades, make sure you are not within earshot of any other students.  This applies even if the student initiates the conversation.  Some options in the classroom are to step into the hall or to wait until the rest of the class is involved in group work and unable to hear your conversation.  A better option might be to have the student come discuss grades during office hours or make an appointment to do so.
• Don't make casual references to a student's grade in front of the class.  For example, saying, "Even Artin barely passed the exam, so I know it must have been hard," inadvertently discloses information about Artin's grade on the exam.
• If a parent, spouse, partner, sibling, cousin, etc. contacts you about a student, do not even engage the parent in conversation.  Not only are you prohibited from giving family members any information about grades, but you cannot even acknowledge that the student in question attends GCC.
• Don't pass around a stack of graded papers or exams and have students find theirs in the pile. 
• Don't post the entire class grades by student name.
• Don't communicate with the students via email unless they are using their official GCC email.  With a third-party account, there's no way to verify if it's really the student or some other interested party.  Note that as an instructor, you should always be using your GCC email.
• If a student wants you to share information with a third party, they must fill out a special form giving permission.  Talk to your division chair in this instance.
• When in doubt, err on the side of student privacy.

For more information about FERPA, you can view Power Point slides about FERPA at GCC or review GCC's official FERPA policies.