Expert RBT Practice Test – 50 Advanced Questions

Two RBTs score the same 20-interval session. They agree on 17 of the 20 intervals. What is the total-count interval-by-interval IOA?

1. 17%
2. 85%
3. 3%
4. 94%

A learner emitted 24 responses during a 30-minute observation. What is the rate per minute?

1. 0.8 responses per minute
2. 24 responses per minute
3. 1.25 responses per minute
4. 0.42 responses per minute

You want to measure a behavior you suspect you’ll OVER-estimate if you use partial-interval recording. For a behavior you want to see occur more, which interval method gives the most conservative estimate?

1. Whole-interval recording
2. Partial-interval recording
3. Momentary time sampling
4. Frequency within intervals

A behavior plan targets REDUCING a high-rate behavior and asks for a measure that tends to over-estimate so staff act early. Which recording method fits that intent?

1. Whole-interval recording
2. Permanent product
3. Latency recording
4. Partial-interval recording

The team counts completed worksheets at the end of each day rather than observing the writing itself. This is an example of:

1. Momentary time sampling
2. Partial-interval recording
3. Permanent-product recording
4. Duration recording

On a graph, the data points bounce widely up and down from session to session with no clear direction. The BCBA describes the data as having high:

1. Trend
2. Level
3. Latency
4. Variability

You record the time from when a response ENDS to when the next one BEGINS, to see if responses are clustering. This measure is:

1. Latency
2. Inter-response time (IRT)
3. Duration
4. Rate

Which scenario is the BEST fit for frequency/count rather than rate?

1. Comparing hand-raising across a 20-minute and a 45-minute class
2. Reporting responding across sessions of varying duration
3. Any time you need to compare behavior over different observation lengths
4. Counting tokens earned in sessions that are always exactly the same length

An RBT notices their data sheet lets them record duration but the plan actually asks ‘how many times per minute.’ The correct action is to:

1. Keep recording duration because that’s what the sheet allows
2. Pick whichever measure is easier that day
3. Record using the method the plan specifies (rate) and tell the BCBA about the sheet mismatch
4. Average the duration into a rate estimate yourself

An MSWO preference assessment is run. On each trial the chosen item is removed and NOT returned to the array. What does the order of selection tell you?

1. Only the single most preferred item, nothing else
2. Which item the learner will always choose regardless of context
3. The function of any problem behavior
4. A rank-ordered hierarchy of preference among the items

A BCBA is conducting a functional analysis (FA) with attention, escape, tangible, and alone conditions. The RBT’s appropriate role is to:

1. Run conditions exactly as scripted and collect data, under the BCBA’s direction
2. Decide which condition reveals the function
3. Add a condition if the behavior isn’t occurring
4. Interpret the FA graph and recommend a treatment

A caregiver interview and a preference checklist are used to identify possible reinforcers without watching the behavior directly. These are examples of:

1. Indirect assessments
2. Direct observation
3. Functional analysis
4. Trial-based functional analysis

During a free-operant preference observation, which is the correct procedure?

1. Present two items and force a choice each trial
2. Remove each item after it is chosen
3. Give free access to many items and record what the learner engages with and for how long
4. Block access to all but one item at a time

A reinforcer that was highly effective this morning is no longer working by afternoon after heavy use. The most likely explanation is:

1. Satiation
2. Extinction
3. Deprivation
4. Spontaneous recovery

The BCBA asks the RBT to help identify reinforcers for a new learner. Which is within the RBT’s scope?

1. Conducting a preference assessment as trained and directed, and reporting the results
2. Selecting the target behaviors for the treatment plan
3. Determining the function of challenging behavior
4. Writing the goals for the reinforcement system

A learner makes errors when prompts are faded too quickly. The team switches to a method that presents the controlling prompt immediately, then progressively delays it across trials so the learner can ‘beat’ the prompt. This is:

1. Most-to-least prompting
2. Least-to-most prompting
3. Progressive time delay
4. Simultaneous prompting

An RBT begins each trial with a full physical prompt and systematically reduces to partial physical, then gesture, then independent across successful trials. This is:

1. Most-to-least prompting
2. Least-to-most prompting
3. Constant time delay
4. Backward chaining

In least-to-most prompting, the correct sequence within a trial is to:

1. Start with a full physical prompt and fade it
2. Deliver the controlling prompt immediately every trial
3. Give the learner a chance to respond independently first, then add increasingly strong prompts only as needed
4. Wait a fixed delay then always physically guide

A task analysis for shoe-tying is taught by having the learner independently complete step 1, with the RBT completing the rest, then steps 1–2, and so on. This is:

1. Forward chaining
2. Backward chaining
3. Total-task presentation
4. Shaping

Which situation BEST calls for total-task presentation rather than forward or backward chaining?

1. The learner can perform no steps of the chain
2. Each step must be mastered in isolation before the next
3. The learner can already perform most steps and just needs to link them with prompting on the hard steps
4. Reinforcement can only be delivered at the very end

A learner masters a skill with the RBT but the team wants it to hold up weeks later without teaching. Programming for this is targeting:

1. Generalization
2. Maintenance
3. Discrimination
4. Acquisition

To promote generalization of ‘washing hands,’ the BEST strategy is to:

1. Teach across multiple sinks, people, and natural times of day
2. Teach only at the same sink with the same RBT each time
3. Reinforce only perfect, identical responses
4. Keep the skill confined to the therapy room until perfect

A learner says ‘cookie’ only to request a cookie when motivated, not to label a picture of one. The verbal operant being used to request is a:

1. Tact
2. Echoic
3. Intraverbal
4. Mand

A learner correctly answers ‘What animals say moo?’ with ‘cow,’ with no cow present. This verbal operant is a:

1. Mand
2. Intraverbal
3. Tact
4. Echoic

During DTT, a learner responds incorrectly. The most appropriate error-correction approach is generally to:

1. Ignore the error and move to the next unrelated trial
2. Follow the plan’s correction procedure — typically re-present the SD with a prompt to ensure a correct response, then fade
3. Deliver the reinforcer anyway to keep motivation up
4. Repeat the item many times with no prompt until correct

A reinforcer is delivered after a variable number of correct responses, averaging every 5th response. This schedule is:

1. Variable ratio (VR 5)
2. Fixed ratio (FR 5)
3. Variable interval (VI 5)
4. Fixed interval (FI 5)

Why do teams often THIN reinforcement from continuous (CRF) to intermittent as a skill is acquired?

1. Continuous reinforcement is unethical
2. Intermittent schedules teach new skills faster than CRF
3. Intermittent reinforcement makes the behavior more durable and resistant to extinction
4. Thinning is required to avoid satiation on the SD

A plan reinforces the learner only when the target behavior occurs at or BELOW a set number per interval — the goal is to reduce, not eliminate, the behavior (e.g., hand-raising that’s become excessive). This schedule is:

1. DRO (differential reinforcement of other behavior)
2. DRA (differential reinforcement of alternative behavior)
3. Extinction
4. DRL (differential reinforcement of low rates)

The KEY difference between DRO and DRA is that:

1. DRO reinforces an alternative behavior; DRA reinforces absence
2. DRO reinforces the absence of the target behavior; DRA reinforces a specific alternative behavior
3. Both reinforce the target behavior directly
4. DRA uses punishment while DRO does not

A learner’s screaming is maintained by escape from demands. Putting screaming on extinction in this case means:

1. Removing the demand immediately when screaming starts
2. Ignoring the learner completely
3. Continuing to present the demand so screaming no longer produces escape
4. Providing attention to calm the learner

After several sessions of successful extinction, a behavior that had stopped suddenly reappears at the start of a new session for no apparent reason. This is:

1. An extinction burst
2. Behavioral contrast
3. Spontaneous recovery
4. Resurgence of an older response

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) reduces problem behavior primarily by:

1. Reinforcing a specific replacement behavior
2. Punishing the target behavior
3. Reinforcing the absence of the behavior for fixed periods
4. Delivering the maintaining reinforcer on a time-based schedule regardless of behavior, reducing motivation to engage in it

A learner bites when denied a tablet (tangible function). The team teaches them to sign ‘tablet please’ and honors it, then gradually delays delivery. This whole package is best described as:

1. Pure extinction
2. DRO on a fixed interval
3. Functional communication training with reinforcement delay/schedule thinning
4. Response cost

Which is TRUE about using extinction alone (without reinforcing a replacement)?

1. It always works immediately with no side effects
2. It teaches the learner a new appropriate behavior
3. It should be used without a plan whenever behavior is severe
4. It can produce an extinction burst and is more effective and humane when paired with reinforcing an alternative behavior

A written plan uses response cost. During a session the RBT should:

1. Decide how many tokens to remove based on severity
2. Remove the specified reinforcer (e.g., a token) exactly as the plan defines, and record it
3. Add response cost to a different behavior that’s bothering them
4. Warn repeatedly but never actually remove a token

A behavior-reduction plan isn’t working after two weeks and the RBT has a good idea for a change. The correct action is to:

1. Document the data and raise the idea with the BCBA, who decides on any change
2. Implement the change and tell the BCBA afterward
3. Make the change only if the parent agrees
4. Alternate between the old and new approach to compare

A key safeguard the BACB emphasizes when reductive procedures are used is to:

1. Use the most powerful punishment available first
2. Prefer reinforcement-based procedures and the least restrictive effective intervention
3. Apply reductive procedures without consent to save time
4. Avoid collecting data so the plan looks successful

Which session-note entry meets the standard for objective, observable documentation?

1. ‘Learner was unmotivated and lazy during morning tasks.’
2. ‘During the 10:00–10:15 block, learner completed 8 of 10 trials independently and left seat 3 times.’
3. ‘Learner clearly didn’t want to be there today.’
4. ‘Mom probably didn’t enforce routines over the weekend.’

An RBT realizes a note from yesterday contains an error. The correct way to fix it is to:

1. Erase the original entry so no one sees the mistake
2. Rewrite the whole note from memory and backdate it
3. Leave it — corrections aren’t allowed
4. Follow the agency’s correction policy — typically mark a correction with date/initials, never delete or overwrite the original

Protected client information should be shared:

1. With any coworker who asks
2. Only with authorized members of the care team on a need-to-know basis, per privacy rules
3. On social media if no full name is used
4. With the parent’s friends if the parent is present

A critical incident (injury requiring first aid) occurs. Regarding timing, the RBT should:

1. Finish the session and document only if time allows later in the week
2. Report it only if the parent brings it up
3. Ensure safety first, then document and report promptly per policy — typically same day
4. Document it but not report it to the supervisor

Why does accurate, timely data entry matter beyond clinical decisions?

1. It only matters for the RBT’s own records
2. It supports billing integrity and service continuity, and inaccurate data can constitute fraud
3. It is optional once the BCBA has seen the trend
4. It matters only during audits

An RBT is asked by a supervisor to ‘clean up’ data by removing sessions where behavior spiked, to make progress look smoother for the funder. The RBT should:

1. Comply, since a supervisor gave the instruction
2. Remove only the worst one or two sessions as a compromise
3. Average the spikes away so nothing is technically deleted
4. Decline, because altering data is falsification, and report the request appropriately

An RBT’s certification requires them to practice:

1. Only within their trained scope and under the supervision of a qualified supervisor
2. Independently once they feel confident
3. Under supervision only for the first month
4. However the employer directs, regardless of scope

A family invites their RBT to babysit the client on weekends for pay, outside the agency. This is problematic mainly because it creates:

1. A multiple (dual) relationship and potential conflict of interest
2. A scheduling inconvenience only
3. A HIPAA violation by itself
4. No issue as long as the BCBA isn’t told

An RBT feels a particular behavior-reduction procedure in a plan is overly restrictive and possibly not in the client’s best interest. The RBT should:

1. Quietly skip that procedure during sessions
2. Raise the concern with the supervising BCBA and document it, while not unilaterally changing the plan
3. Change the procedure to something gentler on their own
4. Continue exactly as written and say nothing

An RBT posts, ‘Rough day with a kiddo who bit me 10 times — autism life!’ on their public social media with no name. This is:

1. Fine, because no identifying name was shared
2. A confidentiality and professionalism violation despite no name being used
3. Acceptable venting as long as the account is personal
4. Only a problem if the parent sees it

An RBT is asked to implement a procedure they were never trained on. The correct response is to:

1. Attempt it and learn as they go
2. Watch one video and then implement it
3. Delegate it to a less experienced colleague
4. Decline until properly trained and supervised, and request training

Informed consent for ABA services generally must be obtained:

1. By the RBT at the first session
2. Only if the family asks for it
3. Before services begin, from the client or their legal guardian, by the responsible professional
4. After the first month of treatment

During a session an RBT suspects possible child abuse based on what they observe and hear. The RBT should:

1. Investigate the home situation themselves first
2. Say nothing unless they are completely certain
3. Confront the caregiver directly about the suspicion
4. Follow mandated-reporting laws and agency policy, and notify their supervisor