Four years seems an awfully long time to wait for the fulfillment of a promise. So this had better be worth it.

The state Department of Education has postponed for four years the rollout of new report cards for secondary schools, progress reports designed to reflect the current "standards-based" education in public schools.

The debut of new report cards, first tested in elementary grades, drew such a firestorm of protest from teachers over its cumbersome form and other shortcomings that the department has decided to pull back to consult more broadly over ways to improve the format.

Other challenges include seeing that the four-point system of gauging how well students meet the standards translates clearly for the purpose of admission to colleges nationwide.

There's some logic in giving younger kids time to "grow up" with the new grading system, particularly because even the elementary school cards will undergo refinements in coming years. But it's hard to imagine that preparations for middle and high school report cards really require four years, especially given that students in kindergarten through sixth grade already are becoming acclimated.

Officials say it may be possible to accelerate that timetable, and they should make every effort to shorten the transition. As it is, many older elementary kids are going to be bouncing from one system to another, and back again — far from an ideal circumstance for children facing the already difficult middle school years.

They also promise that in the interim, secondary school students will receive "formative assessments" — periodic tests aimed at producing a kind of progress report between the annual standards-based examinations. Parents deserve this kind of feedback on their children's development and should insist that the schools provide it.

Finally, the department maintains that the time is needed to rev up remedial programs to help children whose performance is falling short of the standard.

The reality is this is a critical need, but there's no reason to wait the full four years to meet it. Lawmakers need to provide the funds necessary for such assistance to ensure that, in fact, no child is left behind — and must hold educators' feet to the fire to ensure that no child is left waiting needlessly, either.