Remember when report cards were those mysterious pieces of paper that somehow always got lost between school and home? Or better yet, when your dog actually did eat your homework, but nobody believed you? Those days are going the way of chalk dust and overhead projectors, as schools across America are finally giving their ancient information systems a much-needed upgrade.

"Last semester, I found a report card from 1987 stuck in an old filing cabinet," chuckles Principal Robert Martinez of Lincoln High. "The funny part? Our filing system wasn't that different until recently!" This sentiment echoes across thousands of schools, where the gap between 21st-century teaching and 20th-century record-keeping has become impossible to ignore.