CHICAGO – State education officials released the last-of-its-kind report card for Illinois schools on Tuesday, offering the confusing and sometimes contradictory findings as Exhibit A in their reasoning to toss the system for evaluating students and schools.

The system is part of the federal No Child Left Behind Law, but Illinois is developing a new method that will test students at different times of the year to evaluate their progress, measure their reasoning and implement other changes. It also will allow students to earn a career readiness certificate to make it easier for them to find jobs.

"We are truly in a transition period in education as we move away from the punitive and one-size-fits-all nature of No Child Left Behind and into a system that will provide more comprehensive and useful information for parents, educators and students themselves about a child's progress over time," State Superintendent of Education Christopher Koch said.