behavior principles in society by presenting a behavioral alternative.” (10.01). Although the BACB does not enforce the Guidelines for Responsible Conduct, it is the opinion of these authors that every BCBA has an ethical obligation to be familiar with the Guidelines (8.03) and to comply with them in any public statements (10.03) including meetings, presentations, and websites. The economic pressures on behavior analysts will no doubt continue to increase as we become more visible in the culture and the demands for our services escalate. For this
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reason, Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts must be very aware of the ethics guidelines and do what they can to educate colleagues as well as the public about the need for evidence-based treatments; a deep, abiding, regard for our clients’ welfare demands nothing less.
Jacobson, J.W., Foxx, R.M. & Mulick, J.A. (2005). Controversial Therapies for Developmental Disabilities. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. |
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Christine Ratcliff, MS, BCBA
BACB Chief Operating Officer
& Newsletter Editor
Fae Mellichamp, MS
Senior Psychometrician,
Professional Testing, Inc.
It’s not unusual for newer certificants to tell us that they remember a question or two from their exam that really threw them for a loop. Sometimes they even use more colorful descriptions of their reactions (which we won’t repeat here). Inevitably, in the course of these conversations, someone always asks, “Where the heck do these questions come from?” The answer is we get them from you – the certificants!
A professional credentialing exam is a continuously evolving and improving thing. In our last newsletter, we gave you a bit of history on how the new Exam Content Task List was developed. But that was just the beginning for the BCBA and BCABA examinations. In order to make the best possible test instruments, we must engage in an ongoing process of reviewing and improving existing exam questions, as well as adding new questions. We often joke around the office that Fae’s need for more questions is immune to satiation. It’s no joke, though, that the more high-quality examination questions we have, the better the exams will be. And for that, we need BCBAs and BCABAs who are willing to help.
Certificants can help to develop the examinations by participating in a number |
of activities that help to improve the BACB examination item bank. The item bank is comprised of all of the questions (a.k.a. “items”) that have been written for the examinations. Exam development activities usually focus on adding new items to the bank and improving existing items. The most common exam development activities that certificants are needed to do are item writing, pilot testing, and exam reviews.
In order to meet our constant need for new questions; we need certificants to write them. If you attend some of the larger behavior analysis conferences in the US (ABA, CalABA, FABA) you may have noticed, or even participated in, BACB item-writing events. At these events, Fae first conducts “item writer training” where certificants learn what features make for a good exam item and the kinds of things to avoid when writing exam questions. Then the writers are let loose to create new questions.
Before a new item becomes a part of the exam, it needs to go for a test drive. Traditionally, newly written items are pilot-tested by asking certificants to complete small exams made up of the new questions. Pilot testing, like item writing, often takes place at behavior analysis conferences. Pilot testing new items allows Fae to determine whether an item is ready to become part of the exam or if it needs more work. The change to computer-based testing has also allowed us to pilot test new items on the exam itself. Each person who takes the
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