RBT Competency Assessment Practice Test
The RBT Competency Assessment is a hands-on skills demonstration observed by a qualified assessor, and it is completely separate from the written exam you take at Pearson VUE. This practice test covers what the assessment includes, who administers it, and how each skill area is demonstrated, the things candidates most often get wrong about the process.
If you came here thinking the competency assessment is a multiple choice test, you are exactly who this page is for. Work through the questions below, then read the full competency assessment guide for the step-by-step process.
Competency Assessment Practice (10 questions, untimed)
- Untimed practice: answer each question and see the explanation immediately.
- Explanations teach the concept, not just the letter. Read them even when you are right.
- Nothing is saved to any server. Your attempt history stays in your browser only.
Written exam vs competency assessment: the difference
The written exam measures what you know; the competency assessment measures what you can do. An assessor, typically the BCBA responsible for your supervision, watches you perform tasks like collecting frequency data, running a preference assessment, implementing a teaching program and following a behavior plan, either with a real client or in role-play.
The competency assessment comes before your exam application: 40-hour training first, then the competency assessment, then the BACB application, then the written exam. Many candidates lose weeks because they assumed the order ran the other way.
How to prepare for the hands-on assessment
Preparation is rehearsal, not reading. Practice taking frequency and duration data against YouTube videos of therapy sessions, run mock paired stimulus assessments on a friend, and drill the discrete trial sequence out loud until instruction, response, consequence and pause come out in order without thinking.
Ask your assessor which items will be demonstrated live and which by interview, since the assessment allows both for some items. Knowing the format removes the surprise, and the assessment is criterion-based anyway: items below standard are retrained and reassessed, not failed forever.