How we write and check our questions
Every question on this site is written by us for a specific task in the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), and checked by a second reviewer before it's published.
What we write from
- The RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.): the 43 tasks and the number of questions per content area.
- The RBT 2026 40-Hour Training Requirements and Curriculum Outline and the 2026 Initial Competency Assessment: what an RBT is trained and assessed to do.
- The RBT Ethics Code (2.0) and the RBT Handbook (updated 06/2026): for ethics, supervision, documentation and certification rules.
- Standard behavior-analytic definitions as used in the field's main textbook, for concepts such as reinforcement schedules, prompting, measurement and extinction. Where experts disagree, we don't write a question that depends on the disputed point.
We never copy or adapt questions from other practice sites, books or courses, or the BACB's own sample questions, and we don't use any real exam content: the BACB keeps it confidential and its rules forbid sharing it.
How a question is made
- Each question is written for one task, at the level of an entry-level behavior technician working under supervision. Most are short scenarios, as on the real exam: 973 scenario, 435 concept, 78 calculation, 28 graph.
- Every question has four options, one defensible answer, distractors drawn from the same family of terms, an explanation of why the answer is right, and a line for each wrong option saying why it's wrong.
- Questions are drafted with the help of AI from the source documents, then reviewed. Graphs in questions are drawn from the question's own data.
The second check
A separate reviewer, working independently from the writer, checks every question and study page before it's published:
- the marked answer is correct and no other option can be defended;
- the explanation and each "why" line are accurate;
- calculations are exact and graphs show what the question says;
- the RBT in the question acts within an RBT's role;
- numbers from the BACB documents (fees, deadlines, limits in the ethics code) match the source;
- answer positions are spread evenly, and the right answer isn't simply the longest.
The reviewer fixes problems in place and keeps a log of every change. A batch of questions only goes on the site once its check is complete.
Tests and mock exams
1,514 questions cover all 43 tasks. 6 fixed mock exams use their own questions in the real format (75 scored at the outline's weights plus 10 unscored); the other 1,004 make up the practice tests, the content-area sets and the task pages. Because the BACB doesn't publish a passing percentage, our tests show your score and your score by content area, never a pass or fail.
Glossary, ethics and guides
The 188 glossary entries and the explanations of the 29 ethics code standards go through the same second check. The guides are written from the RBT Handbook and the BACB's other current documents, cite them at the bottom, and show the date we last checked them.
Keeping it current
The BACB publishes new versions of the RBT Handbook quarterly as needed. We check for new versions of the handbook, the outline, the ethics code and the training and assessment documents, and update the affected pages. If you find a mistake, please tell us; we check every report against the sources and fix confirmed errors.