Traditional report cards also limit schools’ ability to provide feedback about performance in project-based learning (PBL) courses that schools have increasingly incorporated across their curricula.

The study, based on 1,943 verified called-in child-abuse cases, saw almost four times as many confirmed reports on the Saturdays following report-card distribution the previous Friday.

Even after Pasco County schools distributed students' first-semester report cards on Jan. 27, nearly two weeks late, problems with the documents did not end.

Report cards and prize distribution ceremonies have turned into sources of unhealthy competition in schools, said teachers and mental health professionals. Parents often compare the marks obtained by ...