RBT Competency Assessment: Your Ultimate Guide to Success!

Registered Behavior Technicians must complete the RBT Competency Assessment from a BCBA (qualified assessor) and pass the RBT exam to get certification. If you’ve completed the 40-hour training and are going for the RBT Initial Competency Assessment, this guide covers most of it.

What is the RBT Competency Assessment?

RBT Initial Competency Assessment is an essential part of the process for becoming a registered behavior technician. It evaluates the practical skills and knowledge of effectively implementing behavior-analytic services to clients with autism spectrum disorder or other behavioral challenges.

A board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) who completed the 8 hours of supervision and assessment training is qualified to administer the RBT competency assessment. In this assessment, the BCBA observes the practical skills the candidate learned during 40-hour coursework.

The competency assessment ensures that RBTs are well-prepared to provide high-quality behavior-analytic services. It also helps identify areas where the RBT candidate may need further training or development.

How to find BCBA for RBT Competency Assessment?

The organization where you completed the 40 hours of coursework will guide you where to find a BCBA for RBT competency assessment. However, you can also search for a board-certified behavior analyst who has completed the 8-hour supervision training through the BCBA website.

• Go to this page of the BCBA website.
• Choose the General Search option.
• Select BCBA and BCaBA as the certification type.
• Select Active from the status.
• Tick “Have completed supervision training“.
• Choose your State/Territory.
• Enter your Postal code and City.
• Choose the postal code range (a higher value will give more results).
• Enter your Name and accept the Terms & Conditions.
• Verify the Captcha and hit search.

After a few seconds, the website will list all the eligible BCBA who have completed the 8-hour supervision training for RBT competency assessment. You can contact one of the BCBA and schedule your competency assessment.

How Long is RBT Competency Assessment?

The RBT Competency Assessment encompasses 20 tasks across four key domains. While there is no set time limit, candidates typically spend 1-3 hours completing the entire assessment. The assessment can also be administered online.

What is Assessed in RBT Initial Competency Assessment

The RBT Competency Assessment evaluates candidate skills and knowledge required to work in the behavior analytic field. It includes direct observation, role-play, and interviews, ensuring that candidates can competently perform the tasks.

This section highlights the key tasks and abilities that are evaluated during the RBT competency assessment.

Measurement

• Continuous Measurement: Implement procedures like frequency and duration.
• Discontinuous Measurement: Implement procedures like partial and whole interval recording.
• Data and Graphs: Enter data and update graphs.

Assessment

• Preference Assessments: Conduct assessments to determine client preferences.
• ABC Data: Collect Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence data.

Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction

• Discrete-Trial Teaching: Implement discrete-trial teaching procedures.
• Naturalistic Teaching: Implement naturalistic teaching methods.
• Chaining: Implement task-analyzed chaining procedures.
• Shaping: Implement shaping procedures.
• Discrimination Training: Implement discrimination training.
• Stimulus Control Transfer: Implement stimulus control transfer procedures.
• Prompting: Implement prompt and prompt fading procedures.
• Token Systems: Implement token systems.
• Crisis/Emergency Procedures: Follow crisis/emergency protocols.
• Antecedent Interventions/Differential Reinforcement/Extinction: Implement one of these behavior reduction strategies.

Professional Conduct

• Client Dignity: Provide examples of maintaining client dignity.
• Professional Boundaries: Provide examples of maintaining professional boundaries.
• Supervision Requirements: Describe BACB supervision standards for RBTs.
• Clinical Direction: Describe a situation where clinical direction would be sought.

Documentation

• The assessor initials each task upon competence and signs the final attestation.
• Records of the assessment must be kept for at least 7 years.

The assessment takes approximately 1 to 3 hours, and BCBA provides feedback as you work through the assessment together. If the assessor thinks that you need more preparation to work as a behavior technician, he/she will direct you through the steps.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you understand the importance of RBT competency assessment in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Follow the above-mentioned methods to find a BCBA for competency assessment, and then try our free practice test and study guide to prepare for the RBT certification exam.