BCBA practice exam — free mock-style questions with answers
The BCBA exam is famous for one thing: making four answer options all sound right. Scenario after scenario, it tests whether you can discriminate between concepts that look alike — DRA vs. FCT, stimulus vs. response generalization — under a 4-hour clock.
Below are free mock-exam-style BCBA questions with answers and full reasoning, so you can feel how the real items trap you. When you're ready, ABA Sensei's adaptive practice drills exactly the pairs you confuse most, in English or Spanish.
The real BCBA exam at a glance
•185 multiple-choice questions — 175 scored plus 10 unscored pilot questions.
•4 hours, computer-based, delivered at Pearson VUE test centers.
•Nine content domains (6th edition Test Content Outline), from Behaviorism & Philosophical Foundations through Personnel Supervision.
•Scores are scaled from 0 to 500; you need 400 to pass.
Free BCBA practice questions
Mock-exam style: scenario stems, close distractors, one defensible answer. Try each before revealing the explanation.
BCBA · Domain B — Concepts and Principles
1. A child says "doggy" when she sees a cat for the first time. This is an example of:
A.Stimulus discrimination
B.Stimulus generalization
C.Response generalization
D.Intraverbal behavior
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Stimulus generalization
The SAME response ("doggy") occurs in the presence of a similar but NEW stimulus (the cat) — stimulus generalization. Response generalization would be a new response to the same stimulus; discrimination would be responding differently to dogs vs. cats.
BCBA · Domain B — Concepts and Principles
2. A client has been receiving reinforcement on an FR-5 schedule. The BCBA changes the schedule to VR-5. After the change, the BCBA would MOST LIKELY expect:
A.A decrease in response rate due to the unpredictability
B.A high, steady rate of responding with greater resistance to extinction
C.A post-reinforcement pause followed by a high rate of responding
D.A scalloped pattern of responding
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. A high, steady rate of responding with greater resistance to extinction
Variable ratio schedules produce high, steady rates without the post-reinforcement pauses typical of fixed ratio, and greater resistance to extinction — the organism cannot predict which response will be reinforced. Scalloped patterns belong to fixed INTERVAL schedules.
BCBA · Domain G — Behavior-Change Procedures
3. A behavior analyst teaches a child to request a break using a card instead of engaging in aggression. Initially, every break request is honored immediately with a 2-minute break. This arrangement BEST describes:
A.Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)
B.Functional communication training (FCT)
C.Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)
D.Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Functional communication training (FCT)
FCT is a specific type of DRA where the replacement behavior is a communicative response (requesting a break) serving the same function as the problem behavior (escape). NCR would deliver breaks on a time schedule regardless of behavior.
BCBA · Domain G — Behavior-Change Procedures
4. A BCBA uses DRA to reduce hand-biting, selecting stress-ball squeezing as the alternative behavior. After two weeks, squeezing has increased but hand-biting has not decreased. What is the MOST LIKELY problem?
A.The stress ball does not match the sensory function of hand-biting
B.DRA is not effective for automatically maintained behaviors
C.The reinforcement schedule for the stress ball is too thin
D.An extinction component should have been added to the DRA
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. The stress ball does not match the sensory function of hand-biting
If hand-biting is automatically maintained by specific sensory input, the alternative must produce matched stimulation. The alternative behavior increased (so reinforcement is working), but it does not compete with the sensory product of hand-biting.
Would you pass the BCBA exam today?
Take the free 10-question BCBA mini mock. In ~5 minutes you'll see exactly which TCO domains would fail you — with the reasoning behind every answer.
The BCBA exam has 185 multiple-choice questions (175 scored plus 10 unscored pilot questions) over 4 hours, covering the nine domains of the 6th edition Test Content Outline.
What score do I need to pass the BCBA exam?
The exam uses a scaled score from 0 to 500, and 400 is the passing mark. Because scoring is scaled, the safest strategy is consistent accuracy across all nine domains rather than mastering a few.
Can I take the BCBA exam in Spanish?
No — the BCBA exam is currently offered in English only. That's exactly why Spanish-speaking candidates benefit from studying bilingually: understand the concept in Spanish, then master the English terminology the exam will use.
Why do so many people fail the BCBA exam?
Mostly because the exam tests discrimination, not recall. Candidates know the definitions but can't tell near-identical concepts apart inside a scenario under time pressure. Practicing with close-distractor questions — and reading the reasoning for every option — trains that skill directly.
Is this BCBA mock exam free?
The sample questions on this page are free, as is our whole concept library. Full-length adaptive practice and mock exams are part of ABA Sensei Pro.