General Information about the Examinations

1.  The BACB examinations are only offered to individuals who are seeking BACB certification or recertification, and for no other purpose.

2.  Both the Board Certified Behavior Analyst^® Examination and the Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst^® Examination are comprised of multiple-choice questions with four possible answers.

3.  The Board Certified Behavior Analyst Examination has approximately 150 questions. The Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst Examination has approximately 132 questions.

                BACB Examination Content Outlines                   Number of questions

4.  Candidates are given a total of four (4) hours to complete the Examinations.  This time period includes five (5) minutes for reviewing and agreeing to the “BACB Terms and Conditions” for taking the examination.  Actual time to answer the examination questions will be three (3) hours and 55 minutes.

5.  The Examinations are based on the content areas included in the Third Edition Task List found on this website.

6.  The Examinations are professionally developed to accepted examination standards and are based on the results of a formal Job Analysis and survey. The examinations currently are developed and maintained by Professional Testing, Inc of Orlando, Florida. The BACB® Examinations are administered by Pearson VUE, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The BACB follows nationally accepted standards for test development.

7.  The examinations are administered using a computer-based testing (CBT) format.  A tutorial is available at http://pearsonvue.com/sponsors/tutorial/ to allow candidates to become familiar with the CBT format.  The BACB recommends that candidates use the tutorial prior to their testing appointment. 

8.   The BACB examinations will be offered during “testing windows” of approximately two weeks duration three times per calendar year. The examination will be available only during these testing windows.  The exact dates for testing windows will be listed at www.BACB.com as they become available.

Terms and Conditions

The “BACB Terms and Conditions” for taking the examination must be agreed to prior to commencing the examination.  Failure to agree to the Terms and Conditions will result in dismissal from the examination.  The Terms and Conditions are as follows:

This is the Board Certified Behavior Analyst Examination (or Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst Examination).  You will have three (3) hours and fifty-five (55) minutes to answer the questions.  When answering questions, choose the BEST answer to each question.

Proctors are not allowed to provide comments on any of the questions appearing on the examination.  If there is a problem with a question, select the “comments” button and make a note concerning the problem.  All comments will be reviewed and considered during scoring; however, no responses will be provided to candidates regarding their comments.  You will not be given extra time to make up for the time lost while providing comments.

If you need to use the restroom, raise your hand to inform the proctor.  The proctor will secure your workstation while you go to the restroom.  You will not be given extra time to make up for the time lost.

All questions on this examination are equally weighted.  There is no penalty for guessing, therefore, it is to your advantage to answer every question on the examination even if you are not sure about the correct answer.  No credit will be given for questions which are left blank.

No test materials, documents, notes or memoranda of any sort are to be taken from the testing area. YOU ARE PERMANENTLY PROHIBITED FROM EVER DISCLOSING THE CONTENT OF BACB EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. This prohibition includes verbal, written, and/or electronic (e.g., e-mail, chat room, or other internet or electronic) disclosure. The BACB examinations and individual questions are copyright protected and highly confidential trade secrets. Any disclosure or reconstruction of test questions and content shall be a violation of BACB rules and subject to damages including, but not limited to, the cost of replacing the compromised question(s) and  reconstruction of the exam, if advisable, at the discretion of the BACB.

Proctors are authorized to maintain a secure and proper test administration. You may not communicate with other examinees during the examination. The BACB considers unauthorized sharing of examination content with others to be a violation of the copyright and to constitute cheating.  Cheating or permitting cheating (such as letting someone copy your answers or providing information on the content of examination questions to others), will be cause for automatic disqualification and dismissal from the examination.  Any irregular, disruptive, inappropriate or suspected cheating behavior by you may result in your relocation or removal from the examination site and/or a refusal to release your examination scores; in such event, your examination fees will not be refunded or deferred.

General Rules for Taking the Examinations

1.  Candidates are advised to plan on arriving at the testing center
approximately 30 minutes prior to their testing appointment in order to allow sufficient time for the check in process. The check in process
includes security measures such as photographing, fingerprinting, and
obtaining an electronic signature from each candidate. Candidates will not be permitted to enter the testing area 30 minutes following the starting time for their testing appointment. 

2.  No cameras, tape recorders, radios, telephones, beepers or electronic transmitting devices, notes or reference materials, books, briefcases, backpacks, portfolios, purses, etc. may be taken into the testing area. Personal items may be stored in lockers made at available at the test centers.

3.  Scratch paper, calculators, rulers, frequency finders, textbooks, reference materials and notes are NOT permitted in the testing area and you are not allowed to remove any exam materials from the administration room.

4.  No food or beverage items are permitted in the testing area.

5.  No visitors are permitted in the testing center.

6.  Candidates leaving the testing area to use the restroom will be fingerprinted when they leave and again before they re-enter the testing room.

7.  Smoking areas are not provided.

8.  No questions concerning content of the examination may be asked during the testing period. The candidate should listen carefully to the instructions given by the testing center staff and should read all directions carefully.

Information about Exam Results

1.   Candidates will be notified by mail of their results within 45 days of the last examination date.

2.   The BACB establishes the cut-score/passing score for each BACB examination based on an extensive psychometric profile of the examination. The final passing score is established by a panel of experts based on a criterion referenced process.

3.   Every BACB examination undergoes psychometric statistical equating to assure that scores on different examinations are adjusted for differing levels of difficulty. Therefore, the actual number correct score for each examination may vary depending on the form and level of difficulty of the examination.

4.   Since the number correct score may vary from one examination to another, passing candidates receive only notice that they have passed the examination and no score is provided.

5.   Candidates who do not pass the examination are provided with percentages of correctly answered items in primary content areas.

6.   The following administration specific information will be posted on the BACB website: a. notice of the number of candidates for the examination, b. notice of the number who passed, c. notice of the percentage that passed, and d. a general description of the process for setting the passing point. Other examination related statistical information will not be available.

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The trademarks "Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.," "BACB®," "Board Certified Behavior Analyst®," "BCBA®," "Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst™," and "BCaBA®" are owned by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®. Unauthorized use or misrepresentation is strictly prohibited.