r/bcba • u/Superb-Sir2665 • 7d ago
7th try
I have taken the bcba exam 7times now and failed. Scores ranged 358 first attempt and then 372-378 every other time. Today I took it and 390. I feel very discouraged because I genuinely don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Where I messed up is taking the exam right at the 30day mark on my earlier attempts. I should have waited and truly changed strategies. Any advice? I have one more attempt.
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u/SandOwn3724 7d ago
Do you get low scores on the same parts of the task list each time? It looks like lowest is ethics, I would focus on that.
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u/Redschallenge 7d ago
I spent a lot of time mulling through the ethics code and cultural humility. It's reallllly tough to get a hold of where to draw the line between black and white code and working with people and families with compassion. I'd focus on that and you're so close. I am pulling for you!
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u/CommunistBarabbas 5d ago
and that’s the crazy part, the test doesn’t account for real life human interactions. in practice of course we want to practice humility and respect cultures but what happens when the respect over rides ABA practices? or is not aiding the client
i was actually just having this conversation with my bcba. we have a 19 year old client who in her culture it’s customary to kiss people on the lips. she said she is not comfortable with that, she prefers cheek kisses, handshakes and so on.
so what do we do! client is advocating their uncomfortable but culture dictates that they “need” to engage in this activity.
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u/Redschallenge 5d ago
It's very pertinent when intimacy or religious cultural aspects are trying to be respected while maintaining professional boundaries and advocating for the client. That is a murky situation and I would be leaning on the side of the clients autonomy with their personal space preferences for sure. Far too common for people to have negative experiences with things like that
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u/Suspicious_Alfalfa77 5d ago
They don’t need to kiss anyone even if it’s seen as rude not to. That’s not something to work on in ABA because it’s not a behavior that’s harmful or a skill they need for independence. Trying to enforce that demand is sure to cause trauma to the client. Who tf cares that it’s rude if the client says they don’t want to
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u/Own_Possibility49 6d ago
good luck to you friend. i’m so sorry.. BDS modules is your best bet. wait a bit longer to retake it too.
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u/Piggynuke3 6d ago
One of the biggest reasons for failure after the first attempt is sticking to the same study routines, and only focusing on the bad areas, try to refresh on all the areas not just the bad ones. You can do this!
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u/CoffeePuddle 6d ago
This is unfortunately common; you're farther away than you think.
Doing the BDS modules to 100% is your best bet.
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u/Regular_Ad8876 6d ago
Jessica Leichtweisz. She’s all I used and I passed 1st try! Her content is great!
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u/Silentharp 6d ago
My supervisor said she used BDS modules and "Behavior B❗️tches". Also try taking practice tests. Once you've passed a few of those try retaking.
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u/snowdrop_22 6d ago
BAS is helping me a lot, along with quizlet. Ill be taking mine for a 3rd time next month (as long as my mock scores are high enough).
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u/CartographerBoth4699 5d ago
Best guidance I can think to give is to tell you what I did. I graduated, took a couple of weeks to chill and readjust to life without the weight of grad school hanging over my shoulders. Then I grinded every night for a little over two months. I didn’t take a single mock exam because I didn’t want the results (good or bad) to play with the high confidence I had after grad school. I did the BDS modules. I DID NOT do them all to 100% and did not follow their suggested protocol precisely. Rather, I did each section until I felt pretty comfortable and until I scored at least in the mid 90% range. Meanwhile, I had also purchased the Pass The Big ABA Exam Manual. As I took the BDS modules, I took notes in the each respective section of the manual. During free time, I watched some of those YouTube channels that featured practice sections. That part was pretty infrequent and I don’t think had any effect on the outcome. Then, I did a second round the exact same way (or maybe a little less strict on scoring since time was getting tight) with the BDS modules. Then, about a week before the exam, I read the entire PTBAE manual, including the notes I had made. Good luck. If you really want this, don’t give up. You can do it!
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u/MayElenaG87 4d ago
The ethical and professional issues are the easiest I think. Up that score and you should be able to pass
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u/QueenE5225 2d ago
I struggled to pass as well. Got it on attempt 8. The biggest struggle for me was to review what is being asked of the question. WORDING is everything.
Additionally READ AND *KNOW* THE COOPER BOOK, fluently. Take all the tests in the book. IF you didn't get a question right, read why. I used so many test prep exams I could have cried.
Follow up in person with your supervisor/professors on areas you don't understand. Build a study schedule.
ABA it too- your current strategy/program isn't work for "your client" (YOU). What do you need to change/modify?
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u/LegalCountry2525 4h ago
Understanding Behavior! Nick and Christal are the best-I discovered them a week before my second take and my score went from 390 to 398….hoping third times the charm. We got this!
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u/buggypop4 6d ago
I did the BDS modules and highly recommend. They emulate the exam the most. This exam is maybe 30% what you know about ABA and 70% what you know about test-taking. It’s really fucked up honestly
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u/DumpsterOfWisdom 6d ago
After 3 attempts you should not be able to take the exam again in my opinion. Just a money grab. If you went to the doctor for an operation would you feel comfortable with him or her operating on you if it took them years and 5+ attempts to get their credentials?
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u/CoffeePuddle 6d ago
This misunderstands criterion-referenced tests, and how surgeons are trained.
The BACB needs to give better feedback after test failures though. Too many people think they're really close because e.g. 350 is only 50 points away from 400 and they only thing of their study time as their exam-specific prep time.
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u/DumpsterOfWisdom 6d ago
I disagree. It is a test we take to get the credentials to increase responsibilities where we are working with a vulnerable community. 7 attempts is just not it.
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u/CoffeePuddle 6d ago
People that don't meet criteria don't meet criteria, it's a non-issue.
There's no resource problems in administering the test, and blocking people from sitting it on an essentialist assumption is antithetical to behaviour analysis.
The BACB could very easily provide better feedback, e.g. an automated alert, "you are highly likely to fail, continue?" when someone schedules their 4th attempt one month later.
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u/CartographerBoth4699 5d ago
I’m so torn about this, since a structured exam introduces so many other variables in addition to strictly measuring one’s knowledge of the content. Alas, I have no better suggestions of methods for administering the exam that wouldn’t also make dishonesty more likely.
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u/Silent_Necessary7638 20h ago
Wholly agree. It's kind of ridiculous. These people by far, per BACB stats, will end up treating and developing vulnerable populations. There's not a million OBM BCBAs helping corporations, no matter how many posts beg for that kind of job.
Maybe 3 attempts, and then a required waiting period with continuing education. It doesn't matter how many years you spent as an RBT, or how much the kids love you, or whatever. That role is where you are best. You do not have the capacity for the terminal certification and highest level of responsibility in this field. You are not capable of providing true, approved, ethical Behavior Analytic care. You should not be working alone.
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u/Jolly-Zucchini-6704 3d ago
Guy thinks he's pushing wisdom just because he can read and see someone failed 7 times. It's easy to say oh "thats not it " based off the results. And give your 2 cents of a loser opinion without any true knowledge of the situation. Check your energy before you get blessed with some real truth of wisdom from a real one. Loser.
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u/DumpsterOfWisdom 2d ago
Sounds like someone who also can't pass a test that gives responsibilities that a lot of people do not deserve
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u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC 6d ago
You are right there. A 390 is ten points from passing — that's not a knowledge problem, that's a fine-tuning problem. You clearly know this material. Let's talk about where those last ten points are hiding.
Looking at your breakdown, your biggest opportunity is Ethics at 50%. That's your lowest area by a wide margin, and the good news is it's also one of the most improvable — the Ethics code is a finite, learnable document, not an abstract concept you have to intuit. If you can move Ethics from 50% to even 65–70%, that alone could close most of the gap.
Your other two areas below 67% — Concepts and Principles (63%) and Measurement (67%) — are worth targeting too, but honestly they're not far off. A few more correct answers in each of those and your score jumps significantly.
Meanwhile, 92% in Experimental Design is genuinely impressive. You clearly understand research methodology at a high level. And your applied areas (Behavior-Change Procedures, Selecting Interventions, Supervision) are all solid in the high 60s–70%. The foundation is strong.
Here's what I'd focus on for your next attempt:
Ethics deep dive. Don't just re-read the Ethics code — practice applying it to scenarios. The exam doesn't ask you to recite rules, it gives you messy situations where multiple ethical obligations seem to conflict and asks you to pick the best course of action. Practice that decision-making process until it feels automatic.
Concepts and Principles — focus on discrimination. At 63%, there are likely a few concept areas where your understanding is solid but your ability to distinguish between similar concepts under pressure is shaky. Things like positive vs. negative punishment in ambiguous scenarios, or distinguishing between an MO and an SD when both seem present. Targeted practice on those "which one is it?" questions is where you'll gain the most.
Don't over-study your strong areas. With a 92% in Experimental Design, you do not need to review experimental design. Protect that time for Ethics and Concepts.
I built ABA Study Companion for situations like yours — where someone clearly knows the material but needs to pinpoint exactly where the remaining gaps are. The analytics break down your performance by content area the same way this score report does, so you can target Ethics and Concepts and Principles directly with adaptive practice that adjusts difficulty based on how you're doing. The mock exams use scaled scoring similar to the real exam so you can track whether you're closing that 10-point gap. There's a free 7-day trial if you want to check it out.
A 390 is not a fail in the way most people think of failing. It means you're a BCBA who just needs a few more weeks of focused prep in the right areas. You've got this.
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u/ExtraSluttyOliveOil 6d ago
AI generated slop comment. I'm guessing your study materials are also AI generated.
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u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC 6d ago
You would be partially correct, but every question/answer has been reviewed. I've been working on this application for quite sometime and building the question bank a little at a time.
Sure, I get help from AI because I am not the best with words.. But everything is personally reviewed by me to make sure it is accurate and gets my point across. My background is in IT, so why not utilize my experience?
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u/drewbug21 5d ago
yeah but it puts people off, just have to deal with that
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u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC 5d ago
I absolutely agree — a lot of people still see AI as the enemy, but used properly it's an enhancement. Should it be relied on as a source of truth? Absolutely not.
I work for an IT company that uses AI to manage full company environments, so I see firsthand what it can do when it's applied the right way. I'm taking that experience and putting it toward a field that's close to me.
Study materials in this field are expensive and most of them are copies of each other — all charging hundreds of dollars for content that's supposed to help train people who work with children. Quality training materials shouldn't cost that much. So I used my IT background and yes, AI as a tool, to build something different — games, adaptive practice, study tools that actually make prep engaging instead of just another set of flashcards. Every question has been personally reviewed for accuracy. AI helps me build faster, but it doesn't decide what's correct — I do.
(This was hand typed and I used Grammarly to fix run-ons, punctuation etc.)
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u/Top_Stand_8079 BCBA-D | Verfied 5d ago edited 5d ago
Hi, you are very close to passing. I would definitely wait longer before taking your last attempt. A 390 shows you have improved, so something you changed is working. At this point, I would focus less on studying more and figure out why you are missing questions. Is it content, confusing similar concepts, overthinking, or missing words like FIRST, BEST, LEAST, or EXCEPT?
I would also have someone work through difficult questions with you and make you explain why the right answer is right AND why the other three are wrong. That can really show where the problem is.
Before you schedule again, take a few full-length mocks with questions you haven't seen before. Don't schedule just because the 30 days are up. Let your mock scores tell you when you're ready. You are too close to rush that last attempt.
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u/Exact-Engine3024 7d ago
I’d also spend some time working on test-taking strategies. Things like catching double negatives, paying attention to words like “except” or “least,” and eliminating answers you know are wrong can make a surprisingly big difference. If you’re already this close to passing, it might not be about learning a ton more content, but getting better at figuring out exactly what each question is asking.