Preparing for the BCAT Exam

PREPARING FOR THE BCAP EXAM

How the BCAP Exam Was Developed?

The BCAP exam was developed by a diverse group of practitioners in partnership with test development experts in a manner consistent with generally accepted psychometric principles and best practices for certification examination development using the process described below.

Job Analysis & Content Outline

The job analysis study includes a survey developed by a group of subject matter experts and validated by a national survey. Results of the job analysis define the content and provide the foundation for the exam. Developed using the job analysis study data, the content outline lists the content domains for the exam, the relative weight of each domain, and the tasks associated with each content area.

Item Development & Test Assembly

Test “items,” or questions, are written and reviewed by a team of trained and qualified practitioners under the guidance of a test development expert. All test items undergo multiple levels of review and editing before being placed on the exam. Once test items are finalized, they are assembled into a test using the specifications in the content oultine. The test is reviewed by a team of subject matter experts before being finalized.

Setting the Passing Point & Analyzing Data

The passing score for the exam is established using a panel of experts who carefully review each item to determine the basic level of knowledge or skill that is expected. The passing score is based on the panel’s established difficulty ratings for each exam question. After the exam is administered, a statistical analysis is performed to identify quality improvement opportunities and any adjustments needed before the exam results are finalized.

Ongoing Development & Maintenance

Content of the exam is reviewed regularly to ensure that items remain accurate and relevant. New versions of the exam are developed to ensure security. Job analysis studies are conducted periodically to ensure the content outline remains up-to-date.

Studying for the BCAP Exam

As a certification organization, BICC’s role is in developing and administering the certification examination to determine the qualifications of candidates for certification. BICC does not require, provide, or endorse any specific study guides, review products, and/or training courses.

Examination Outline
1. Autism Spectrum Disorder7-9%
2. Principles of ABA11-13%
3. Treatment: Skill Acquisition26-32%
4. Treatment: Reduction of Problem Behavior26-32%
5. Behavioral Data Collection and Analysis5-7%
6. Ethical/Legal Considerations4-6%
7. Clinical Management10-12%
A. Autism Spectrum Disorder7-9%
  1. Distinguishing between evidence-based interventions vs. nonevidence-based interventions.
  2. Knowledge of deficits in social-emotional reciprocity.
  3. Knowledge of deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction.
  4. Knowledge of deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships.
  5. Knowledge of stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech.
  6. Knowledge of insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior.
  7. Knowledge of highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus.
  8. Knowledge of hyper or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of environment.
  9. Knowledge of levels of severity.
  10. Knowledge of research regarding treatment intensity.
  11. Knowledge of early intensive behavioral intervention research.
  12. Knowledge of foundational autism research.
 
B. Principles of ABA18-22%
  1. Positive and negative reinforcement
  2. Positive and negative punishment
  3. Conditioned and unconditioned reinforcer
  4. Conditioned and unconditioned punisher
  5. Respondent conditioning
  6. Operant conditioning
  7. Rule-governed behavior
  8. Contingency-shaped behavior
  9. Extinction
  10. Motivating operation
  11. Antecedent
  12. Behavior
  13. Consequence
  14. Stimulus
  15. Discriminative stimulus
  16. Stimulus control
  17. Discrete trial
D. Treatment: Reduction of Problem Behavior26-32%
  1. Behavior intervention plan
  2. Target behavior
  3. Operational definition
  4. Functional behavior assessment
  5. Indirect assessment
  6. Descriptive assessment
  7. Experimential functional analysis
  8. Functions of behavior
  9. Antecedent interventions
  10. Functional communication training
  11. Token economy
  12. High-p request sequence / behavioral momentum
  13. Noncontingent reinforcement
  14. Replacement behavior
  15. Extinction procedures
  16. Extinction burst
  17. Schedules of reinforcement
  18. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior
  19. Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior
  20. Differential reinforcement of other behavior
  21. Differential reinforcement of low/high/diminishing rates of behavior
  22. Response blocking
  23. Redirection
  24. Overcorrection
  25. Response cost
  26. Time-out from reinforcement
  27. Spontaneous recovery
  28. Behavior contracting
  29. Self management
  30. Group contingencies
 
C. Treatment: Skill Acquisition26-32%
  1. 3-term contingency
  2. Discrimination training
  3. Discrete trial training
  4. Natural environment training
  5. Training pivotal behaviors
  6. Fluency-based training
  7. Task analysis
  8. Generalization
  9. Maintenance
  10. Premack principle
  11. Assessment
  12. Prompt
  13. Errorless learning
  14. Most-to-least prompting
  15. Least-to-most prompting
  16. Prompt fading
  17. Time delay prompt
  18. Chaining
  19. Shaping
  20. Pacing
  21. Alternative and augmentative communication
  22. Mand training
  23. Tact training
  24. Training echoic behavior
  25. Training intraverbal behavior
  26. Teaching play skills
  27. Teaching motor skills
  28. Teaching adaptive skills
  29. Teaching social skills
  30. Teaching executive function skills
  31. Teaching perspective taking skills
  32. Teaching academic skills
  33. Visual supports
  34. Program modification and adaptation
 
E. Behavioral Data Collection and Analysis 5-7%
  1. Measurement dimensions (e.g., rate, duration, percentage)
  2. Measurement procedures (e.g., event recording, timing, time sampling)
  3. Analysis of Skill acquisition data
  4. Analysis of Problem behavior data
  5. Celeration charts
  6. Graphing
  7. Interobserver agreement (IOA)
F. Ethical/Legal Considerations4-6%
  1. Safety procedures
  2. Emergency procedures
  3. Confidentiality procedures
  4. Recognition and reporting of client abuse and neglect
  5. Dual relationships protocols
  6. Prevention of abandonment protocols
  7. Evidence-based treatment recommendations
G. Clinical Management10-12%
  1. Treatment planning
  2. Treatment integrity
  3. Treatment effectiveness
  4. Coordination of care
  5. Training caregivers
  6. Training staff
  7. Monitoring staff performance
  8. Mentoring staff
  9. Documentation
  10. Assessment
  11. Discharge planning
B. Principles of ABA18-22%
  1. Positive reinforcement
  2. Negative reinforcement
  3. Positive punishment
  4. Negative punishment
  5. Reinforcer
  6. Punisher
  7. Conditioned reinforcer
  8. Unconditioned reinforcer
  9. Extinction
  10. Deprivation
  11. Satiation
  12. Contingency
  13. Motivating operation
  14. Antecedent
  15. Behavior
  16. Consequence
  17. 3-term contingency
  18. Stimulus
  19. Discriminative stimulus
  20. Stimulus control
  21. Response
  22. Discrete trial
 
 D. Treatment: Reduction of Problem Behavior24-30%
  1. Behavior intervention plan
  2. Target behavior
  3. Operational definition
  4. Functional behavior assessment
  5. Escape function
  6. Attention function
  7. Access to tangible function
  8. Automatic function
  9. Antecedent interventions
  10. Functional communication training
  11. Token economy
  12. High-p request sequence / behavioral momentum
  13. Noncontingent reinforcement
  14. Replacement behavior
  15. Escape extinction
  16. Attention extinction
  17. Access to tangible extinction
  18. Extinction burst
  19. Continuous reinforcement
  20. Intermittent reinforcement
  21. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior
  22. Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior
  23. Differential reinforcement of other behavior
  24. Response blocking
  25. Redirection
  26. Overcorrection
  27. Response cost
  28. Time-out from reinforcement
  29. Spontaneous recovery
 
 
 C. Treatment: Skill Acquisition28-34%
  1. Discrimination training
  2. Discrete trial training
  3. Natural environment training
  4. Fluency-based training
  5. Generalization
  6. Maintenance
  7. Caregiver training
  8. Premack principle
  9. Preference assessment
  10. Prompt
  11. Errorless learning
  12. Most-to-least prompting
  13. Least-to-most prompting
  14. Prompt fading
  15. Time delay prompt
  16. Chaining
  17. Shaping
  18. Pacing
  19. Alternative and augmentative communication
  20. Functional approaches to teaching language skills
  21. Mand training
  22. Tact training
  23. Training echoic behavior
  24. Training intraverbal behavior
  25. Teaching joint attention
  26. Teaching play skills
  27. Teaching motor skills
  28. Teaching adaptive and safety skills
  29. Teaching social skills
  30. Teaching cognition skills
  31. Teaching executive function skills
  32. Teaching academic skills
  33. Visual supports
  34. Curriculum modification
 
E. Behavioral Data Collection5-7%
  1. Measurement dimensions (e.g., rate, duration, percentage)
  2. Measurement procedures (e.g., event recording, timing, time sampling)
  3. Skill acquisition data
  4. Problem behavior data
  5. Graphing
  6. Interobserver agreement (IOA)
F. Ethical/Legal Considerations4-6%
  1. Safety (including OSHA)
  2. Responding to emergencies
  3. Confidentiality (including HIPAA)
  4. Recognition of client abuse
  5. Reporting client abuse
  6. Dual relationships
 
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