Time management during ABA exam — how fast are you supposed to go?
Did a full timed practice test today and ran out of time with 15 questions left. Definitely have a time management problem.
The (ABA) American Barber Association Certified exam has 131 questions and the time limit is 125 minutes by my understanding. That works out to roughly 73 seconds per question — which should be doable except I keep stopping on "ABA exam" type questions.
My bad habit: I over-analyze questions I'm unsure about rather than making a best guess and moving on.
Any strategies that worked for you? Specifically:
- Do you go through once and skip hard questions to come back to?
- How many questions on "ABA" should I expect — is it worth the time investment?
- Is the real exam usually easier to pace than practice tests, or harder?
I'm good enough on the content, I think — it's purely pacing that's failing me.
The honest answer is: it depends a lot on your background.
If you're already working in this field, the ABA exam is testing knowledge you probably use daily. The "ABA" sections will feel familiar.
If you're coming in from outside, give yourself an extra 2 weeks and really focus on the practical application questions.
The practice tests here are worth doing repeatedly — I did the same test bank multiple times and found new questions I'd missed each time.
Related Discussions
- My 8-week ABA study schedule (free resources only)4 replies
- Just passed my ABA exam — here's what actually helped4 replies
- ABA exam mistakes I wish someone had warned me about3 replies
- Best free resources for ABA prep in 2026 — compiled list3 replies
- How close are ABA practice tests to the real exam? My honest review3 replies