Probe
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A probe is a brief check of a skill, given without teaching or help, to see what the student can do independently at that moment.
Topic: Measurement and data collection
In plain terms
Probes are short and repeatable: a one-minute reading passage, a set of 10 problems, or a few trials of a social skill. During a probe the adult does not prompt or correct, so the result shows independent performance rather than performance with support. Probes are usually given on a regular schedule, such as weekly, and graphed.
How it shows up in an IEP
Probes are often the measurement written into a goal: "on weekly probes of 20 grade-level words." Using equivalent probes each time, at the same difficulty, keeps the trend honest.
Example
Each Monday before instruction, the teacher shows 10 new CVC words with no help and records how many are read correctly. Teaching happens afterward, with prompts.
Related terms
- Curriculum-based measurement (CBM)Curriculum-based measurement is a set of brief, standardized, timed probes that measure a general skill, such as reading or math, to track growth over time.
- BaselineA baseline is a student's measured performance on a skill before instruction toward a new goal begins, used as the goal's starting point.
- Progress monitoringProgress monitoring is the regular, repeated measurement of a student's performance on a skill to check whether instruction is working.
- Trial-by-trial dataTrial-by-trial data records the student's response on every teaching trial in a session, usually as correct, incorrect or prompted.
- GeneralizationGeneralization is a student's use of a learned skill in new settings, with new people or materials, and without the original teaching supports.
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