RBT Practice Exam: 75 Free Questions and Advanced Study Guide for the 2026 BACB Test
The Anatomy of an RBT Practice Test
Walk into a testing center without having felt the clock tick, and you’ve already lost half the battle. This isn't just about reading a book; it’s about answering 75 graded questions in 90 minutes. It's fast. Most people trip over the wording, not the concepts. They know what "reinforcement" is, but they can't spot it when it's buried in a four-sentence paragraph about a classroom in Kentucky. We’ve designed this resource to stop that from happening to you.
| Exam Domain | Question Count | Key Focus Areas | Difficulty Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement | 10 Questions | Rate, Duration, Latency | Medium |
| Assessment | 8 Questions | Preference, RBT Role | Low |
| Skill Acquisition | 24 Questions | Chaining, DTT, NET | High |
| Behavior Reduction | 12 Questions | Functions, DRO/DRA | very High |
Why Most People Fail the "Measurement" Section
It’s usually the math. Or rather, the lack of it. If you see a question about a 2-hour session where a behavior happened 10 times, the answer is "5 per hour." Simple, right? Yet, in the heat of the moment, students often click "10" because they forget to account for the time. This is the difference between frequency and rate. Beyond the obvious calculations, you’ll encounter "Whole Interval Recording." This is the one where if the kid stops the behavior for even one second, you don't count it. It's strict. It's meant to be.
Scenario: You are observing a student who screams. You start a timer when the scream begins and stop it when the scream ends. You repeat this for every scream across a 3-hour period. What are you measuring?
- A) Inter-Response Time (IRT)
- B) Total Duration
- C) Frequency
- D) Partial Interval Recording
The Skill Acquisition "Trap"
Shaping and Chaining are siblings, but they aren't twins. Shaping involves reinforcing "successive approximations"—basically, rewarding the effort as it gets closer to the goal. Chaining is putting distinct, already-learned steps together. Think of it this way: You shape a child's vocalization of the word "Ball." You chain the process of washing hands. One is about the quality of the move, the other is about the order of the moves. Most test-takers mix these up when the scenario involves a complex task like tying their shoes. Use our free RBT study course to see more examples of this distinction in action.
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Take the Full 75-Question Mock ExamBehavior Reduction: The Function is Everything
You cannot fix a behavior if you don't know why it's happening. The BACB focuses heavily on the four functions: Sensory, Escape, Attention, and Tangible. If you are using "Time Out" for a kid who is trying to escape work, you didn't punish the behavior. You rewarded it. You gave them exactly what they wanted. This is why "Differential Reinforcement" (like DRI or DRA ) is so frequently tested. You have to find a "replacement behavior" that serves that same function but is actually socially acceptable. It's a puzzle. Sometimes the pieces don't fit on the first try, but on the exam, there is always one "best" answer that satisfies the function.
Exam Strategies You Won't Find in a Textbook
Read the last sentence of the question first. Usually, the first three sentences are just "fluff" about a kid named Timmy. The last sentence has the actual instruction. Furthermore, if two answers mean the same thing (like Frequency and Count), they are likely both wrong. Look for the "Outlier" answer. Often, the most clinical-sounding answer is the one the BACB wants. But be careful—don't choose an answer just because it has a big word like "Ontogenic" if it doesn't actually fit the scenario.
Ready to move beyond basic concepts? Access our free RBT Task List breakdown to see exactly which sections you need to hit harder from now on.
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