5th Ed. Program, 6th Ed. Test: A Student’s Guide

Tuesday, 20 Aug 2024 / Published in Blog posts

5th Ed. Program, 6th Ed. Test: A Student’s Guide

Help, I completed a 5th ed. program and must take the 6th ed. test!

These words of panic often escape students’ lips or fingers typing on social media with increasing frequency. The fear of the unknown and being unprepared is palpable when students realize they completed a 5th edition program but now face the 6th edition test. Are these fears justified? Are students truly unprepared? Can they overcome this challenge? This blog aims to address these questions, quell these fears, and provide direction for those facing this reality.

Background

In February 2022, the BACB^® announced an upcoming change to the BACB Task Lists. The next edition, the 6th Test Content Outline (TCO), will take effect in January 2025. The TCO serves as the basis for BACB certification exams, specifying the knowledge that will be tested. A month later, in March 2022, the BACB made a second announcement to update the standards for certification, a change that will go into effect on January 1, 2027. While the TCO change affects what is tested, this second change affects the educational and supervision requirements needed to qualify for the exam.

What’s the issue?

While the TCO isn’t intended as a curriculum outline, students expect their programs to cover the necessary content for the certification exam. Some programs have started implementing changes to align with the 6th ed. TCO. However, some students will complete their programs before these changes are fully integrated or completed programs before revisions and are now facing the new test. These students may encounter tasks on the exam that were not directly taught in their program.

The Good News: The Sky is Not Falling

No Additional Coursework Required. The change from the 5th ed. Task List to the 6th ed. Test Content Outline only affects the BACB exams. This change does not affect the standards (i.e., required degree, coursework, fieldwork) to qualify for the exam. Thus, students who have met the 5th ed. (2022) standards for certification need not worry about additional coursework.

Similarity Between Editions. Although the 6th ed. TCO is new, the content is largely the same. There are only 13 added tasks, mostly building on existing ones. The TCO is periodically updated to reflect advancements in the field, ensuring entry-level behavior analysts master critical tasks. However, core concepts and principles remain consistent. For example, it will always be necessary for an entry-level behavior analyst to know what behavior, response, and response classes are. While the exact wording of the task may change, the general content remains the same.

We Know What is Different. Though the BACB does not provide a detailed accounting of the changes from the 5thed. TL to the 6th edition TCO, we have enough information to guide study efforts. The changes largely include task-wording changes, including action-verb changes. Additional changes involve reorganizing, combining, and separating tasks, eliminating some, and adding tasks. According to the BACB Newsletter, the changes include the following:

Ethics now includes 12 specific tasks.
Nine tasks were removed.
Ten tasks were combined into five.
Nine tasks were separated into 19,
13 new tasks were added, resulting in a net increase of 12 tasks (104 total).

For a more detailed analysis, refer to our blog supplement, ABA Tech BOOST 5th Ed. TL to 6th Ed. Changes Reference Guide and Resource.

The Exam Blueprint is Similar. Changes to the exam blueprint, which specifies content weighting, are minor and transparent within the BACB handbooks.

Refer to our supplement, 5th Ed. TL to 6th Ed. Changes Reference Guide and Resource, for additional information on the new exam blueprint.

What Should Students Do?

Understand the Role of the TCO. The BACB emphasizes that the TCO outlines exam content and should not be considered a curriculum guide. Programs may not address every task but often go beyond the TCO in educating students.

Determine What You Were Taught. Though some programs will not transition their curriculum to accommodate the 6th ed. TCO until after 2025, others started this process anticipating their students taking the 6th edition exam. For example, the Florida Institute of Technology ABA Online Program began incorporating references to and content from the 6th ed. TCO in the first course in the sequence in the spring semester of 2023. These changes were rolled out semester by semester. Students who enrolled in or following the spring 2023 semester were exposed to the 5th ed. TL and 6th ed. TCO content. Knowing what was directly taught in the program in which you are enrolled or completed will allow you to determine how to proceed in your study efforts. Independently evaluate each new 6th ed. TCO task to determine if they were directly taught in your program.

Use the TCO as a Guide and Focus on the Additions. If your program was based on the 5th ed. Task List, don't despair. Your program likely covered most of the 6th ed. TCO content. Review the TCO and evaluate your knowledge of each task, focusing on the 13 new tasks:

B.20
B.22
B.23
B.24
C.12
D.3
D.6
E.2
E.8
F.2
G.18
H.5
I.3

Pay Attention to Exam Blueprint Weighting. The 6th ed. TCO blueprint changes are minor, but focusing on increased-weight content areas can help guide your study. Strengths in these areas may improve your performance on the 6th ed. exam, while weaknesses may require extra attention.

Conclusion

Realizing you completed a 5th edition program but must take the 6th edition test can be stressful. However, with the right approach and resources, you can navigate this transition successfully. Assess your knowledge against the 6th ed. TCO, focus on new tasks, and leverage available resources to prepare effectively. You’ve got this!