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RBT task C.9 acquisition and maintenance asks candidates to distinguish active teaching of a not-yet-mastered skill from checks that a learned skill still occurs after teaching. Tested under Behavior Acquisition in the BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), the task is about recognizing the procedure's purpose, not designing a client program.
How C.9 Appears In Study Scenarios#
The RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) states task C.9 as: "Distinguish between maintenance and acquisition procedures."
Original C.9 practice scenarios ask candidates to:
- Decide whether the learner is being taught a response that is not yet mastered.
- Decide whether a response was already learned and is now being checked over time.
- Notice when prompts, repeated teaching trials, or correction steps point to active instruction.
- Notice when occasional probes, review trials, or natural-routine checks point to continued performance.
The parent rbt behavior acquisition study guide places C.9 after prompting and generalization because mastered performance depends on earlier teaching. After this page, the rbt practice test behavior acquisition mixes C.9 with other Domain C tasks so the page topic does not cue the answer.
Acquisition Vs Maintenance#
The table below separates the two labels by the purpose of the procedure, the learner's history, and the exam-study signal.
| Feature | Acquisition procedure | Maintenance procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Build a response that is not yet mastered. | Check or support a response that was already learned. |
| Learner history | The response is new, emerging, prompted, or inconsistent. | The response previously met the plan's mastery rule. |
| Common session detail | Teaching trials, prompts, error correction, repeated practice, or dense reinforcement. | Brief probes, review opportunities, natural use, or scheduled checks after mastery. |
| RBT-level decision | Follow the written teaching procedure and record performance. | Follow the written review or probe rule and record whether the skill continues. |
| Wrong turn | Calling every review trial "teaching" because an RBT is present. | Calling a response "maintained" before the scenario says it was learned. |
Acquisition and maintenance describe different instructional purposes. Real client decisions about when a skill has met mastery criteria, when to thin support, and how often to probe maintenance belong in the supervising BCBA's written plan.
Procedure Signals To Check#
The list below gives a study sequence for sorting a C.9 scenario without relying on one keyword.
- Find the learner history: new, emerging, mastered, previously taught, or unknown.
- Find the procedure purpose: build the response, transfer control, review the response, or check continued performance.
- Find the support level: prompts and correction suggest active teaching, while no-prompt probes after mastery suggest maintenance checks.
- Find the timing: a newly introduced target points toward acquisition, while later checks after mastery point toward maintenance.
- Keep the decision descriptive: identify the procedure type without changing the plan.
Generalization can occur after a skill is acquired, but generalization asks whether performance occurs across people, settings, stimuli, or responses. Review stimulus generalization when the scenario changes materials, people, or locations instead of simply checking whether a learned response continues.
Examples And Non-Examples#
The examples below show how the same learner can have one response in acquisition and another response in maintenance.
| Scenario | Best label | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A learner is first learning to tact three community signs with model prompts and immediate feedback. | Acquisition | The response is being built through active instruction. |
| A learner who mastered handwashing last month completes one no-prompt handwashing check each Friday. | Maintenance | The routine was already learned, and the procedure checks continued performance. |
| A learner practices a mastered greeting with a teacher, caregiver, and peer. | Generalization overlap | The key feature is performance across different people, not just time after mastery. |
| A learner says only the first sound of a word, and the plan reinforces closer vocal approximations. | Shaping overlap | The scenario is about successive approximations toward a terminal response. |
| A learner earns tokens for correct responses during a new matching program. | Acquisition with token use | The tokens may support teaching, but the new response is still under instruction. |
When a scenario describes successive approximations rather than a learned-versus-new contrast, compare the details with shaping aba before choosing a C.9 answer. When the scenario turns on learned reinforcer value, rbt task C.2 conditioned reinforcers is the better review page.
Worked Scenario#
Amira's written program includes two targets during snack cleanup. She already mastered putting napkins in the trash. The RBT now checks that response once during Friday sessions without prompts. Amira is also learning to wipe the table; the RBT models the motion, guides practice, and reinforces independent wipes.
The napkin response is in maintenance because the scenario says it was mastered and is now checked occasionally without teaching prompts. The table-wiping response is in acquisition because the scenario includes modeling, guided practice, and reinforcement for a response still being built.
The same session can therefore contain both labels. C.9 practice is asking for the function of each procedure in the plan: active skill building versus checking continued performance.
Common Mistakes#
The table below lists mistakes that make C.9 harder than the wording looks.
| Mistake | Better check |
|---|---|
| Calling a skill maintained because the learner answered once. | Look for a prior learning history and later checks over time. |
| Calling every target in a teaching session acquisition. | Separate new targets from mastered targets being reviewed. |
| Treating maintenance as a guarantee. | Maintenance is a procedure label in the scenario, not a promise that performance will continue. |
| Confusing maintenance with generalization. | Maintenance concerns continued performance over time; generalization concerns new people, settings, stimuli, or responses. |
| Confusing acquisition with shaping. | Acquisition is the broad skill-building phase; shaping is a specific procedure that reinforces closer approximations. |
Practice Allocation#
The table separates official Domain C exam weighting from this page's C.9-only practice set.
| Measure | Count or tag | Source or purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Official Domain C scored questions | 19 | RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) |
| Official Domain C share | 25% | RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) |
| Total scored exam items | 75 scored questions | RBT Handbook, Examination section |
| This page's practice items | 5 | Original C.9 drill for this article |
| Task tags used below | 5 C.9 items | Page-level practice, not an official task allocation |
Practice Questions#
These original items test C.9 from the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) without using recalled exam content.
1. A written program introduces a learner to labeling community signs. The RBT models the first response, prompts practice trials, and reinforces correct labels. Which label best fits the procedure's purpose?
A A fluency review routine would fit a response already learned well enough to practice for speed or ease.
B Correct. The learner is building a response through prompts, practice trials, and reinforcement.
C A preference-sampling routine identifies possible reinforcers rather than building the sign-labeling response.
D A crisis-response routine addresses safety procedures, not active instruction for a new label.
2. Maya learned to zip her backpack independently last month. On Fridays, the RBT asks her to zip it once without prompts and records whether the response still occurs. Which label best fits this session part?
A An initial teaching trial would fit a response being introduced or actively taught.
B An error-correction drill would follow an incorrect response during instruction.
C A preference check block would sample possible reinforcers, not a learned zipper response.
D Correct. The response was learned earlier and is now checked without prompts.
3. A learner has not yet followed a two-step direction. The plan uses prompts, immediate feedback, and repeated practice to build that response. Which classification fits?
A Correct. The response is not yet learned, and the plan is actively building it.
B Maintenance would require a previously learned response being checked or supported over time.
C Generalization would focus on using a learned response across people, settings, stimuli, or responses.
D Assessment would focus on gathering information, not implementing the teaching procedure described.
4. Dante mastered handwashing in May. In July, staff occasionally ask him to complete the routine during normal restroom trips without extra teaching. What is the best classification?
A A prompt fading trial would reduce assistance during instruction, but the stem says no extra teaching.
B A baseline measure set would occur before intervention rather than after mastery.
C Correct. The routine was mastered earlier, and staff are checking continued performance.
D A shaping sequence would reinforce closer approximations toward a terminal response.
5. During greeting practice, Leila easily answers three mastered safety questions. The written program then adds a fourth safety question with model prompts and reinforcement. Which label best fits that fourth question?
A Correct. The fourth question is being taught with prompts and reinforcement rather than checked after mastery.
B Maintenance review fits the three mastered questions, not the prompted fourth question.
C Preference sample would test reinforcer value, not teaching an answer to a safety question.
D Reduction session would focus on decreasing behavior, not building a question response.
FAQ
What is maintenance in ABA?
Maintenance in ABA means a learned response continues after the main teaching phase. For C.9 exam study, the signal is that the response was already learned and is now being checked or supported over time.
What is response maintenance in ABA?
Response maintenance means the same response continues after teaching conditions are reduced, delayed, or moved into later review. The term does not mean the RBT independently decides when to stop teaching; real procedures follow the written plan.
What is the difference between acquisition and maintenance?
Acquisition is active instruction for a response that is not yet mastered. Maintenance is continued performance after the response has already been learned.
Can one session include both acquisition and maintenance?
Yes. A session may include active teaching for one target and a brief check of another target that was mastered earlier. The label depends on the target and purpose described in the scenario.
Is maintenance the same as generalization?
No. Maintenance concerns continued performance over time, while generalization concerns performance across different people, settings, stimuli, or responses.
Sources
- RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), updated 09/2024, overview and C.9 task statement.
- RBT Handbook, updated 06/2026, Examination section for scored-item language.