Does the law allow Edward to post the grades in such a manner?
NO!
The law does not allow Edward to post the grades as he did. FERPA generally prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in education records without the student's prior consent. Personally identifiable information includes information that would make a student's identity easily traceable. It is likely that a student's identity could be ascertained through his or her initials on a publicly-posted class roster.
Additionally, FERPA holds that a personal identifier, such as a student's social security number or student number as assigned by the institution, is personally identifiable information. Moreover, a college may not allow the display of an individual's social security number, or any four or more consecutive numbers contained in the individual's social security number, on any Internet site maintained by the college or other public accessible document for any purpose.