BCBA Exam Advice
Disclaimer: Please note that this BCBA exam advice is based on the opinions of the creators of StudyABA.com. While this BCBA exam advice may be helpful to some, other people may benefit from completely different tips and strategies. There is no single “correct” method to prepare for the exam. Please also note that the BACB® may change their policies and procedures over time. If any information on this page conflicts with the information provided by the BACB®, ALWAYS give priority to the information that the BACB® provides.
Understand the Structure of the BCBA Exam
- Become fluent in all areas of the BACB’s 5th Edition Task List found HERE. The task list includes 9 content areas with 92 total tasks. It is essential that you familiarize yourself with each of these tasks.
- Become fluent with the BACB’s® Ethics Code found HERE. Section-E of the task list pertains to ethics. Therefore, you will want to familiarize yourself with the Ethics Code.
- There are 185 total questions (which includes 10 ungraded pilot questions). Be aware of how many questions are designated for each section of the task list so that you can allocate your studying accordingly.
How to Prepare
COLLECT A BASELINE SCORE
- Take a BCBA® Mock Exam to gather your baseline data. This will help you identify which area(s) of the exam you should concentrate on most when studying, and will also show you how your scores are improving over time. Other than the BCBA mock exams available at www.StudyABA.com, there are a handful of other sites that also offer practice exams (ABA Wizard, Behavior Development Solutions, Pass the Big ABA Exam, FIT, etc.). We are not afraid to list all of our competitors because we are confident that we provide the best BCBA mock exams in the world! In fact, over the past decade we have helped THOUSANDS of people in 71 countries pass the BCBA® exam!
- You may find it helpful to take mock exams from a variety of websites. This could be beneficial, in theory, because it will expose you to a wider variety of questions and writing styles. However, please be mindful that StudyABA’s mock exams are the only mocks that match the difficulty of the real BCBA exam. Therefore, you should not use other websites to assess your preparedness for the BCBA exam or to identify your strengths and weaknesses, unless they can prove that their exams match the difficulty of the real BCBA exam. (To reiterate, you may find mock exams from other sites helpful because they expose you to more questions and writing styles. However, you should NOT use your mock exams results from these sites to assess your preparedness for the exam or to identify your strengths/weaknesses, unless they have the data to back it up. We are so confident that you will pass the BCBA exam after passing our BCBA mock exams, that we offer a Money Back Guarantee!)
STUDY THE TASK LIST, FOCUSING ON YOUR WEAKEST AREAS FIRST
Now that you have gathered your baseline scores and identified your weaknesses within the BACB’s 5th Edition Task List, we recommend studying your weakest areas first. There are many ways to learn the material covered in your weakest content areas, but here are some of the most common:
- We highly recommend our new Mastery Modules as we truly believe it is the most comprehensive and convenient resource for BCBA exam prep! And we have the data to back it up: our customers improve their exam scores by an average of 12% using the Mastery Modules! There are 92 study modules in total, one for each task on the 5th Edition Task List. Each module includes a video lesson, a reading lesson, a comprehension quiz, a cheat sheet, a FAQ section, suggested readings and more helpful resources! Check out a free sample module HERE.
- Read the Cooper book (the white bible). Skim through the areas you are most familiar with, while focusing most on the content areas you struggle with the most. Take the quizzes at the end of each chapter.
- Create a study guide and/or flashcards to gain mastery and fluency of key terms. Do not forget to include the BACB’s® Code of Ethics in your study guide/flashcards.
TAKE A POST-TEST TO SEE HOW YOUR SCORES HAVE IMPROVED
- A few days (or weeks) before you sit for the real BCBA exam, we recommend taking another BCBA® Mock Exam as a post-test. This will allow you to see how your scores have improved from baseline levels, and also allow you to assess which area(s) you should spend the rest of your limited time studying.
- It is also important to assess your timing during the post-test. On the real BCBA exam, you have 4 hours to complete all 185 questions. If you do not answer a question, it is automatically considered wrong. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to answer EVERY question on the real BCBA exam!
Final Hours Leading up to the BCBA® Exam
- Review the areas you are having the most difficulty with and briefly review the areas that you feel confident on. However, do not stay up all night studying the night before the exam. This is very important BCBA exam advice. A full night’s rest will likely be more beneficial to you compared to studying a couple of last terms, etc. A lack of sleep could result in poorer performance in all areas.
- On the day of the exam, eat a full breakfast and try to remain calm. You can try to brief over a few areas, but we don’t recommend “overworking your brain” since you will already be taking a 4-hour test later that day.
- Wear clothes that will help you stay comfortable while sitting in a chair for 4 hours. The last thing you want to wear are clothes that will be uncomfortable or otherwise distract you. Wear warm clothes if you get cold easily. Put on sweatpants if jeans are uncomfortable. Or wear dress clothes if they make you feel confident, etc. Keep in mind that this is not a fashion show. The BACB® will not see what you are wearing at the testing center. Do not feel like your professionalism will be judged if you wear pajamas to the testing center.
Arriving at the Testing Center
Disclaimer: ALWAYS trust the instructions that are given to you by the BACB® and/or the testing center. If those instructions differ from anything on this page, give priority to those instructions and disregard ours. Procedures and policies may change over time and may vary based upon your testing location.
- The testing center tells you to arrive at least 30 minutes before your exam is scheduled, or you may not be able to take the exam. The testing center will confirm your identity by asking for your identification, taking a picture of you, and scanning your fingerprints. You may be confused about the ID requirements because the center says you need a government-issued picture ID and another ID with your signature. A driver’s license and a credit card with your signature on the back would suffice.
- You will get a locker assigned to you and you will be given a key. They will ask you to empty out your pockets and put everything in the locker except for the clothes on your back.
Taking the BCBA® Exam
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
- The testing center staff will sit you down at a computer and hand you a fine-tip marker and a double-sided laminated paper to take notes on. This is not a dry erase marker, but you can ask for another piece of paper if yours fills up. (You may have to turn in your previous laminated paper if you asked for another one, rather than having both at once.) The 4-hour timer will start as soon as you sit down at your computer.
- Start out by writing 1-185 on your laminated paper. This way you can mark which questions you feel good about and which ones you will want to go back and review. After each question, mark your laminated paper to indicate your level of confidence in your answer for that question:
- Also, when you write 1-185, make a mark at 50 questions that says “1-hour”, at question 100 write “2 hours” and at question 150 write “3 hours”. This will help you keep track of your timing because it will show you when you reach that checkpoint if you are pacing yourself correctly, or if you’ll need to increase or decrease your pacing.
WHILE TAKING THE EXAM
- Go through the exam, one question at a time, and mark a :), checkmark, ?, or 0 on your laminated sheet. Every question is a multiple-choice question with 4 possible answers. DO NOT LEAVE A QUESTION BLANK when going through the first time. Even if you have no idea what the correct answer is, make your best guess by eliminating the bad answers first. By doing this, you at least have some answer put down for that question if you run out of time. (When a question is left blank, it is automatically marked as incorrect. Therefore, even if you completely guess the answer, you have a 25% chance of getting that question correct.)
- Many people say that the questions come down to two possible correct answers, with one being more correct than the other. Read through every possible answer entirely as some answers may sound incorrectly based on the first couple of words, but then turn out to be the correct answer.
- When you go through the test the first time, you can scroll through the questions by clicking a left arrow to go back 1 question and right arrow to go forward 1 question. However, when you switch between questions, there may be a 3-5 seconds lag (similar to having a bad internet connection). You can use a lot of time by flipping back and forth between the questions. Therefore, we recommend taking the test all the way through the first time and marking down whether you want to go back and review that question or not. This way, you will save time by not having to scroll back and forth between questions throughout the exam.
REVIEWING YOUR ANSWERS
- When you have finished all 185 questions, you will be given a chance to review all of the questions. From here, you can click on each question number you want to go back and review based off of your laminated paper. For example, you could click on question #99, rather than clicking the left arrow 85 times. This review page will also show you if any questions were left unanswered. You should go through the questions that you felt like you were on the right track with, but didn’t feel very confident about (the questions marked with a ?). Then go through the questions you felt confident about but weren’t 100% sure on (the questions marked with a checkmark). Finally, go through the questions you had no clue on (the questions marked with a 0). When you click on a question number you are unsure of, that question will pop up. When you answer that question, it will go back to the review screen showing all 185 questions. Go through all questions you were unsure of in the order suggested above. When you feel good with all of your answers, or the 4 hours is up, you can submit your exam.
Final BCBA Exam Advice and Tips
- If you start to get sidetracked or feel “out of it” from staring at the computer screen for so long, this can negatively impact your performance. Our single-best piece of BCBA exam advice is to take a break when you become overwhelmed or when you start to lose concentration. You will need to raise your hand and someone will escort you out of the testing room. Get a drink, use the restroom, do jumping jacks, walk around for a minute, etc. “Give your brain” a little break from the stress. Be aware that your timer does not stop, so these breaks count against your 4-hour time limit.
- If you get stuck on a question or begin to feel down on yourself, briefly review your laminated paper to see how many smiley faces you have recorded. These can give you motivation and confidence that you are doing well. They can also remind you that you should not beat yourself up over one confusing question.
- When you select an answer, you can click on the letter (or the entire answer) to highlight it as the answer that you believe is correct. Be careful: if you click on the screen by accident, it could choose a different answer than you intended.
- There is a timer on the screen that tells you how much time you have remaining. There is also a calculator that you can use if necessary.
- The exam consists of 185 multiple-choice questions that must be taken within 4 hours (240 minutes). This means you have roughly 1 minute and 15 seconds per question.
FINAL REMINDERS
Remember that it is no fluke that you are able to sit for this exam. You have met all of the same requirements as everyone else taking the exam. Carefully analyze each question and use the knowledge you have acquired over the years to answer each question confidently and carefully. Don’t get hung up on a difficult question. Simply mark the answer you think is best and flag it for review. Then move on to the next question without shifting your focus back to the question you were unsure of. The current question you are on will need 100% of your focus. Remain calm and confident.