Towards a Meaningful Analysis of Behavior Analyst Preparation Programs.

Abstract

Numerous universities and colleges offer coursework approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Despite uniform requirements for approval, many differences exist among programs. To provide the field of behavior analysis with information about these differences, we conducted an initial analysis of programmatic variables and their relationship to pass rates on the Board Certified Behavior Analyst examination.Given the variety of preparation programs currently approved by the certification board, behavior analysts from different programs will likely differ with regard to their training and experiences.It is imperative that graduates from programs preparing behavior analysts are passing the examination to become board certified to fill specified jobs.Statistically significant variables associated with increased examination pass rates for programs include on-campus course delivery and accreditation by the Association for Behavior Analysis International.Variables lacking statistical significance with regard to impact on examination pass rates include the provision of supervision experience and the number of individuals from a program sitting for an exam.