Cause and Effect Probes Editable

About this resource

Everything inside: 25 pages · 6 original silent-reading passages, each with two stated cause-and-effect pairs and 24 questions total · 6 equivalent probe forms · a shared answer-key and scoring page for all six forms · a data log and scaled trend graph · a caseload summary · a ready-to-send family update · a classroom teacher check-in (a second setting) · a 17-starter phrase bank · a binder cover and 4-section binder map · a worked, invented example.

The store's first comprehension-passage probe measured main idea and supporting details; this file measures a different, equally common IEP goal — whether a student who reads a passage SILENTLY can identify a stated cause and its effect, in their own words. This file hands the student six original, invented passages, each about 65–75 words, written with explicit causal language ("because," "so," "since," "as a result") so every cause and effect is stated in the text, never something the student has to infer. Nothing but the passage and four write-in questions appears on the page the student sees. Scoring, the rubric and the answer key live on separate adult-only pages, never in the student's hands.

WHAT IS INCLUDED — 25 pages, 491 type-in fields

Prepare To Give The Probes

• Binder Cover and Section Map — a spine/cover card, a 4-box section reference (not a cutting page), and an 8-row "where to find things" index
• How This Pack Works — how the six forms share one rubric and one key page, plus a 3-row table comparing what each of the file's three tools measures
• Cause and Effect Goal, Rubric and Directions — a sample IEP-style goal (invented, every bracket editable), a baseline table (median of the first three probes), a binary Correct/Incorrect rubric (no partial credit — the student wrote the words), and a 2-row benchmark table

Take The Data

• Six Probe Forms (A–F) — each a clean, student-facing page: a "My name" line, one kid-worded instruction with a book icon, the passage, and four numbered questions with a real four-line answer box each (2 questions per cause-and-effect pair — one effect, one cause — across two stated pairs) — nothing scored, no goal text, no marks on this page
• Answer Keys and Scoring — one shared adult-only page with all six forms' accepted causes and effects (any close paraphrase counts) and a Score /4 field per form

Track, Report And Share

• Cause and Effect Accuracy Data Log — 12 dated rows, one form per row
• Cause and Effect Accuracy Trend Graph — a scaled 0–100% grid plus a 12-row log table
• Caseload Summary — 12 students by 8 probes, baseline and criterion percent, trend and decision columns
• Family Update — Reading at Home — a ready-to-send communication page: what was read, how it went in plain words, a practice idea, and a 7-day practiced table
• Classroom Comprehension Check-In — two half-page notes per sheet, cut apart: a checkbox, one sentence, no codes, for the general education teacher or paraprofessional during regular class reading (a different setting from the six probe forms)
• Progress Note Phrase Bank — 17 observable-language starters across 5 groups (cause accuracy, effect accuracy, pattern across probes, next steps, the quarterly-report sentence), every one ending in a blank pulled from a data sheet in the file
• A Filled-In Probe Set and Log — a worked, invented example (Priya N., fourth grade) with a 4-row weekly log and a 2-row answer-key excerpt, every number cross-checked against the arithmetic behind it

Plus a Start Here quick-start, a 3-section contents page with real page thumbnails, 3 section dividers, and a "what's next" back page.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

It is a fillable PDF. Open it in a PDF reader, click a field, type, save. It works offline with no account or subscription. It is NOT a Google Sheets file, a Google Doc, or an Excel workbook, and it does not calculate a percent for you. The six probe forms print cleanly for the student to write directly on.

It is not a norm-referenced or standardized reading test, and it is not a Lexile or grade-level placement tool. It does not set a passing criterion or sort a student into any category — that is a blank line for your team. Every cause-and-effect pair scored is stated outright in the passage's own words; the key never asks for an inferred or implied cause. It is not Main Idea and Supporting Details Reading Comprehension Probes, which measures the overall gist of a passage rather than a specific causal relationship; the two pair well for a student whose goal names both skills.

No age, eligibility or IDEA-timeline claim anywhere; no health data is pre-filled, and the example student (Priya) is invented and named as such on page 24.

Who This Is For

Special education teachers, reading interventionists and case managers who need cause and effect measured with the student's own written answers as the evidence, scored from an answer key in under a minute a form.

If You Want More

Main Idea and Supporting Details Reading Comprehension Probes measures the overall gist of a passage rather than one causal relationship. Context Clues Vocabulary in Context Progress Monitoring Probes covers the word-meaning step behind understanding a passage. Oral Reading Fluency Grade 1-2 Progress Monitoring Probes measures how fast and accurately a student reads connected text. Decodable Sentences with Comprehension Questions is a shorter, decoding-level comprehension step before a full passage.