Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) President Dan Montgomery issued the following statement in response to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) delaying the June 16 vote on testing.  “It’s heartening to see this response from the Illinois State Board of Education. We are thankful that they listened to our members and will do the right thing for our students. Now it’s time to engage the wider education community—parents, students, teachers, administrators, and assessment experts—all of whom need to be a part of deciding how to measure student growth in a way that recognizes the diverse strengths, skills and talents of our students.  “While we understand the federal requirements for standardized tests, we continue to call for reducing the testing burden on our students to the greatest degree possible. After a traumatic year, we must take more care than ever with testing issues. “In this pivotal moment, our next steps should be working collectively to transform our testing system into an assessment system that promotes rich, culturally relevant curricula and engages students in meaningful learning.”