RBT Exam 2026 study guide
Continuous Measurement—ANSWER--Measuring each and every instance of behavior within
the entire observation period.
What are the 5 types of continuous measurement?—ANSWER--Frequency, Rate, Duration,
Inter Rate Response (IRR), and Latency.
Frequency—ANSWER--A simple count of the instances of a behavior, represented by a tally.
Example; how many times did John hit another student? You would tally every time John hit
another student and present the count as a number. John hit another student five times.
Rate—ANSWER--A frequency count with a time element. This type of continuous
measurement is an important measurement when looking at behaviors which are frequent
and short, like hitting, raising hands, flapping hands, disrupting another student, yelling.
Example; if you are measuring how many times John hit another student, you would report this
as John hits at the rate of five times per hour.
Duration—ANSWER--How long a Behavior occurs. To take this type of data you start a
stopwatch when the behavior begins and end the stopwatch when the behavior stops. This
,data is often reported as an average over time, and is for behaviors that are long lasting like
tantrums, social play, how long it takes a child to get dressed.
Inter Rate Response (IRT)—ANSWER--This is the observed time between responses. To take
this type of data you start the stopwatch when the behavior ends and stop the stopwatch
when the behavior begins again. This type of data is typically reported as an average.
Example; The time between doing math problems, the time between prosocial behaviors.
Latency—ANSWER--This is the time from prompt to the start of the behavior. To take this type
of data start the stopwatch when the prompt is given and stop the stopwatch when the
behavior starts. You might want to take this type of data when there is a delay between the
prompts and when the behavior occurs.
Example; The time from a prompt to get dressed to a person getting dressed, the time from the
instruction to begin a math problem to the response.
Discontinuous Measurement—ANSWER--These measurement procedures are classified as
samples of the target behavior, but they do not measure every instance of a behavior within
the entire observation period. These types of measurement procedures are used when it is too
time-consuming to take continuous measurement data.
What are the 3 types of Discontinuous Measurement?—ANSWER--Partial interval, whole
interval, and momentary time sampling.
© 2026 Copyright. All Rights Reserved. This document is
protected by copyright law, Copyrighted By Brittie Donald
, Partial Interval—ANSWER--A type of discontinuous measurement that records the presence
or absence of a behavior during a brief interval of time. Intervals are marked as positive if the
target behavior occurred at any time during the interval, and negative if the target behavior did
not occur during the entire interval.
Example; take an interval of 30 seconds and look for hand flapping behavior. You would mark a
positive if the hand flapping behavior occurred at any point during the 30 second intervals, and
a negative if it did not.
Whole interval—ANSWER--A discontinuous measurement procedure that records the
presence or absence of a behavior during the whole interval. Intervals are marked as a positive
if the target behavior occurred during the entire interval, and a negative if the target behavior
stopped at any time during the interval.
Example; if you are doing a 30 second intervals and measuring hand flapping behavior, you
would mark it positive if the hand flapping behavior occurred during the entire 30 seconds, or
negative if the hand flapping behavior stopped at any point in time during those 30 seconds.
Momentary Time Sampling—ANSWER--A discontinuous measurement procedure that
records the presence or absence of a behavior at the very end of an interval. Intervals are
marked as a positive if the target behavior occurred at the end of the interval, or a negative
when the target behavior does not occur at the end of the interval. This procedure is best to do
for many clients at the same time.
Continuous Measurement—ANSWER--Measuring each and every instance of behavior within
the entire observation period.
What are the 5 types of continuous measurement?—ANSWER--Frequency, Rate, Duration,
Inter Rate Response (IRR), and Latency.
Frequency—ANSWER--A simple count of the instances of a behavior, represented by a tally.
Example; how many times did John hit another student? You would tally every time John hit
another student and present the count as a number. John hit another student five times.
Rate—ANSWER--A frequency count with a time element. This type of continuous
measurement is an important measurement when looking at behaviors which are frequent
and short, like hitting, raising hands, flapping hands, disrupting another student, yelling.
Example; if you are measuring how many times John hit another student, you would report this
as John hits at the rate of five times per hour.
Duration—ANSWER--How long a Behavior occurs. To take this type of data you start a
stopwatch when the behavior begins and end the stopwatch when the behavior stops. This
,data is often reported as an average over time, and is for behaviors that are long lasting like
tantrums, social play, how long it takes a child to get dressed.
Inter Rate Response (IRT)—ANSWER--This is the observed time between responses. To take
this type of data you start the stopwatch when the behavior ends and stop the stopwatch
when the behavior begins again. This type of data is typically reported as an average.
Example; The time between doing math problems, the time between prosocial behaviors.
Latency—ANSWER--This is the time from prompt to the start of the behavior. To take this type
of data start the stopwatch when the prompt is given and stop the stopwatch when the
behavior starts. You might want to take this type of data when there is a delay between the
prompts and when the behavior occurs.
Example; The time from a prompt to get dressed to a person getting dressed, the time from the
instruction to begin a math problem to the response.
Discontinuous Measurement—ANSWER--These measurement procedures are classified as
samples of the target behavior, but they do not measure every instance of a behavior within
the entire observation period. These types of measurement procedures are used when it is too
time-consuming to take continuous measurement data.
What are the 3 types of Discontinuous Measurement?—ANSWER--Partial interval, whole
interval, and momentary time sampling.
© 2026 Copyright. All Rights Reserved. This document is
protected by copyright law, Copyrighted By Brittie Donald
, Partial Interval—ANSWER--A type of discontinuous measurement that records the presence
or absence of a behavior during a brief interval of time. Intervals are marked as positive if the
target behavior occurred at any time during the interval, and negative if the target behavior did
not occur during the entire interval.
Example; take an interval of 30 seconds and look for hand flapping behavior. You would mark a
positive if the hand flapping behavior occurred at any point during the 30 second intervals, and
a negative if it did not.
Whole interval—ANSWER--A discontinuous measurement procedure that records the
presence or absence of a behavior during the whole interval. Intervals are marked as a positive
if the target behavior occurred during the entire interval, and a negative if the target behavior
stopped at any time during the interval.
Example; if you are doing a 30 second intervals and measuring hand flapping behavior, you
would mark it positive if the hand flapping behavior occurred during the entire 30 seconds, or
negative if the hand flapping behavior stopped at any point in time during those 30 seconds.
Momentary Time Sampling—ANSWER--A discontinuous measurement procedure that
records the presence or absence of a behavior at the very end of an interval. Intervals are
marked as a positive if the target behavior occurred at the end of the interval, or a negative
when the target behavior does not occur at the end of the interval. This procedure is best to do
for many clients at the same time.
