Independent and Dependent Clauses Progress Monitoring Probes

About this resource

One skill, start to finish. A clause-identification IEP goal, six equivalent probe forms that measure it, and a graph scaled to the probe. Baseline on Monday, goal written by Tuesday, first data point on Friday.

The simple/compound/complex probe already in the store (sentencetypes.py) asks the student to classify a WHOLE sentence's structure. This one asks a narrower question about one piece of it: one clause in the sentence is already highlighted, and the student decides only whether that highlighted part could stand alone as its own complete sentence (independent) or could not (dependent). No clause boundary to find and no blank to fill -- just circle IND or DEP -- so a missed item names which clause type the student is not yet telling apart from the other.

WHAT IS INCLUDED - 18 pages, six probe forms, 365 type-in fields, a binder cover and divider tabs, a family update page, a two-page teacher answer key

A Binder Cover And Divider Tabs

• A binder cover with student, case manager and school year fields, cut and slide into a binder front or folder tab
• Six divider tabs, one per section of this file, print and cut

The Goal Page

• What the probe measures, in one paragraph
• A sample goal, invented, with every bracket meant to be edited by the team
• The six-part goal frame as type-in fields: by (date), given, student will, criterion, on ___ of ___ consecutive probes, as measured by
• A baseline table: three probes and the median
• Three benchmark rows with target date, target score, actual score and met
• The administration and scoring directions
• Lines for this student's own scoring rules, and a box for what the errors say to reteach

The Data Log And Graph

• A y-axis already scaled 0 to 10, twelve probe columns, and the instruction to draw the aim line from the baseline to the criterion first
• A twelve-row log: date, form, correct, errors, the score used on the graph, and notes

The Caseload Summary

• Twelve student rows, baseline and criterion, eight probe columns, a trend column and a decision column
• For the data meeting: rows that are flat together are a group, a row that is flat alone is a different question

A Worked Example

• Marcus, fifth grade, invented. Twelve weekly probes: the baseline taken as a median, the aim line, three points under it forcing a teaching change (checked the highlighted clause's first word against a subordinator card before answering), the criterion met, and the progress-report sentence the log produces. Every number in that sentence is on the log.

A Family Update And Team Handoff Page

• A family update with blanks for this week's score and how it compares to the goal, ready to send home or read at a conference
• A team handoff checklist for a substitute, a new provider or a shift change, so whoever gives the probe that week knows exactly what to do
• A meeting summary sentence with blanks for the two numbers off the log, ready to drop into the progress report

What This Is, And What It Is Not

It is a fillable PDF. The goal page, the data log, the caseload page, the name and date lines on every student sheet, and the mark boxes and Correct box on the answer key are type-in fields: open the file in a PDF reader, click a line or a cell, type, and Save As once per student. The probe forms are meant to be printed: one copy per student per week, the student writes on the form, and that same sheet is the one you score. It works offline with no account or subscription. It does not calculate percents or draw the graph.

It is not a norm-referenced assessment and it carries no benchmark score or "typical" rate. The criteria in the sample goal are in brackets because your team sets them from the baseline and the student's IEP. Every probe is untimed on purpose; the goal page says so, so the condition stays the same all year.

Who This Is For

Fourth, fifth and sixth grade special education teachers and case managers writing written-expression or language-conventions goals for any age student, intervention and Title teachers, and the paraprofessionals who give the weekly probe.

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