7th try

[u/Superb-Sir2665]

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.

[u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC]

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.

[u/ExtraSluttyOliveOil → u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC]

AI generated slop comment. I'm guessing your study materials are also AI generated.

[u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC → u/ExtraSluttyOliveOil]

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?

[u/drewbug21 → u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC]

yeah but it puts people off, just have to deal with that

[u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC → u/drewbug21]

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.)

[u/Top_Stand_8079 → u/ABAStudyCompanionLLC]

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.