The 7 Best Study Tools for ABA Therapy Certification
Becoming an applied behavior analyst and earning ABA therapy certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) is a life goal with a big pay-off. As a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst), you have a shot at many life-changing careers in applied behavior analysis.
Within that wide range of industries and specialties, there are thousands of ways of helping individuals and communities and earning a solid living along the way.
But first, you have to earn that certification.
ABA therapy training will only get you so far. The average ABA therapy certification program does a great job giving you the nuts and bolts of treatment. ABA therapy certification requirements, however, take a different kind of talent. That is test-taking. And it’s something that ABA therapy certification courses don’t cover.
But never fear! We have got you covered here with a list of some of the best ABA therapy certification study tools out there today to get your BCBA with ease. Whether you are still in school and studying to get ahead or have graduated and are spending all your efforts in test prep, this full range of resources will get you ready for the big test.
1. Study on the Go With The ABA Wizard app
2. Review the BAS Task List Study Guide
3. Join The “ABA Study Group” on Facebook
4. Have Fun And Learn With StudyNotesABA
5. Get Your ABA Therapy Training With Pass The Big ABA Exam
7. Absorb the Cooper Book Into Your Soul
1. Study on the Go With The ABA Wizard app
Apps are where it’s at today. Everything from online dating to restaurant orders happen through apps. So why not turn to an app for your ABA therapy training?
ABA Wizard has you covered. It’s completely portable, going everywhere you go. It covers a ton of ABA therapy certification territory for only $10.
Wizard covers every single item from the BACB Fourth Edition Task List. There are over 1,400 practice questions. When you goof, you don’t just get a red X. Instead, the app walks you through the mistake, guaranteeing you won’t make it again. You’ll be entirely up to speed with every ABA therapy certification requirement.
Available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, you can get a version for any kind of device.
2. Review the BAS Task List Study Guide
The Behavior Analyst Supervisor isn’t actually a behavior analyst supervisor the way you might first think. But it is a website that offers first rate ABA therapy certification courses to help you pass that critical board exam!
For BCBA therapy certification training, the go-to solution from BAS is their Task List Study Guide. The site offers 14 hours of video training and a downloadable 100+ page study guide.
But it’s far more than just the guide. BAS has mini-mock exams with 25 questions for a quick hit of exam-related adrenaline whenever you have a few minutes to spare. Each focuses on a different task list section or topic, with a total of about 400 different questions.
Or, if you’re ready for the full-meal deal, you can sit down and power through the 160-question full mock exam.
Better yet, you can tailor your costs to your needs. The site offers packages ranging from a $90, single-exam access package to a $225 30-day access package to two full web-based mock examinations and all of the mini-exams on the site.
3. Join The “ABA Study Group” on Facebook
There is no resource like other people who are pushing for the same goal when it comes to study time. And free resources always get high marks in our book! That makes the Facebook ABA Study Group one of our favorite resources for ABA therapy training.
It’s a private group, eliminating distractions from anyone who isn’t serious about their ABA therapy certification. But there are more than 45,000 members, giving you a broad spectrum of expertise and idea to tap into for your own studies.
Not only will you find many students like yourself who are still in their ABA therapy certification programs, but also many experienced BCBAs who have already been through the process. Some of the mock exams that are posted in the group give the paid alternatives a solid run for their money! But there’s no cost to this other than your own moral obligation to pitch in and help the next generation meet their own ABA therapy certification requirements.
4. Have Fun And Learn With StudyNotesABA
Even the most dedicated student needs some lighter moments to break up the monotony of studying all the time. It’s even better, though, if you can put that fun time together with legitimate ABA therapy training.
That’s exactly what happens with StudyNotesABA, an off-color, entertaining, but informative dive into BCBA exam preparation. StudyNotesABA resources promise to be real, raw, and relatable. Not to mention roll-on-the-floor funny, at times.
From $50 workbooks with names we can’t re-print here, to $140 mock exams that give you the full 160 questions of the real thing, plus 1 additional question so you feel like you are getting a little extra, StudyNotesABA covers all the bases in ABA therapy certification requirements. There are even $25 live video reviews with actual BCBAs, along with one-to-one tutoring options if you need that personal touch.
5. Get Your ABA Therapy Training With Pass The Big ABA Exam
The BCBA exam is such a big deal that among students pursuing ABA therapy certification, you don’t even have to say specifically which exam it is. It’s just “The Big ABA Exam.”
So, naturally, a company called Pass The Big ABA Exam is going to be a big deal in ABA therapy certification courses!
Like many other ABA therapy certification programs, PTBAE offers downloadable study guides and online mock exams. These are all tools that make it easy to study on your own time and build up your expertise in the ABA therapy certification requirements.
But the real killer feature from PTBAE is the BIG Exam Prep Workshop. A $440, six-week, guided live course, the workshop breaks down everything on that crucial BACB Fourth Edition Task list. Through over 400 oversized flashcards, structured homework assignments, and weekly live Q&A sessions with instructors, it’s practically like going back to school again… but this is entirely oriented at getting you past the test. Former clients agree, this one gets the job done.
6. Take The FIT Mock Exam
You might be planning to get your ABA therapy certification in New Jersey, but don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of the Florida Institute of Technology’s mock exam. No matter where you plan to practice, the BCBA exam is going to be the same. And FIT has put together three different versions for online practice that you can go through for $59 each.
It’s all offered through an easy-to-use exam center that covers each of the 11 content areas from the Fourth Edition Task List. You can review your scoring along the way so you get a sense of how things are going.
You will get feedback by content area to help you correct whatever questions you missed. The exam is untimed to take the pressure off before you get to the real thing.
7. Absorb the Cooper Book Into Your Soul
There is no list of study materials for the BCBA exam that is complete without mentioning the Cooper Book.
Officially called Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition, this text by John Cooper, Timothy Heron, and William Heward is the solid gold standard in study texts for many ABA therapy certification courses. You might pick it up on your own if it wasn’t assigned reading, because many certified BCBAs swear by it!
If you don’t feel like you can shell out for the textbook itself, you can still access all the supplementary materials from the link above that are offered to everyone, free of charge. Those include:
- A summary and objectives for each chapter
- Self-assessments in both multiple choice and essay styles
- Guided notes to accompany lecture slides
- Complete instructions for creating behavioral graphs
- Web links to even more resources for research and discovery of study materials
The BCBA exam is a big deal in the ABA world and you will find a lot of competition for your time and dollars among different ABA therapy certification programs. You definitely want to spend more time studying for the big test than you do trying to sort out which ABA therapy certification courses for exam-prep offer you the best bang for your buck.
But you can definitely count on these six options to give you your money’s worth in ABA therapy training. Whether your personal learning style is to throw in a few laughs or to buckle down and study hard with a group of peers, there is something for everyone here. And the low cost of most of the tools also puts them firmly within range of your average student!
Passing the BCBA exam is the biggest hurdle in starting your career in a vital and rewarding field. With all the effort you have put in to earning your master’s degree and make it this far, don’t be afraid to grab onto any of these tools for a little extra help in crossing the finish line!
