SAFMEDS for RBT Exam Study: A Practical Routine

SAFMEDS (Say All Fast a Minute Each Day Shuffled) is a flashcard routine from the precision teaching tradition. You run through a shuffled deck for one minute, count what you got right and wrong, and chart the counts over days. This guide shows how to use it for RBT exam vocabulary and concepts. It describes a study routine. It is not a proven pass strategy, and nothing here is endorsed by the BACB.

What SAFMEDS is

Say all: you say the answer to every card you can.
Fast: you aim for speed as well as accuracy, because fluency means accurate responding at a useful rate.
A minute: each timing lasts one minute.
Each day: you repeat it daily so you can see a trend.
Shuffled: the order changes every time, so you learn the content and not the sequence.

Ogden Lindsley developed SAFMEDS in the late 1970s (Quigley et al., 2017); see our methodology page for the other sources we draw on. We do not claim SAFMEDS raises RBT exam pass rates.

What it is good for on the RBT exam

The RBT exam has 85 multiple-choice questions based on a 43-task outline in 6 content areas. SAFMEDS suits the part of that content that is vocabulary and discrimination: definitions, examples versus non-examples, the names of procedures, and the data and graphing terms in Domain A. It is a weaker fit for judgment-heavy scenarios, which is why it should sit next to scenario practice, your 40-hour training materials and your supervisor’s feedback. The BACB itself recommends reviewing the test content outline and your training and competency assessment materials.

A routine you can start tonight

Build the deck from the outline. Take one task at a time from the test content outline. Put a term, or a short example, on the front and the concept on the back. Keep each card to one idea.
Start small. A deck of a few dozen cards is easier to see progress in than a hundred. Add cards only when the deck is going well.
Time one minute. Shuffle, flip through, say each answer aloud, and put cards in a correct pile or an incorrect pile. Move on rather than stalling on a card.
Count both piles. Write down correct per minute and incorrect per minute.
Chart it. Plot the day’s counts. Daily counts on a chart show whether you are speeding up, which a single score does not.
Adjust. If an item keeps landing in the incorrect pile, go back to the source, rewrite the card and re-test it the next day.
Repeat daily. Short and regular beats long and rare. This is our suggestion, not a BACB rule.

Why chart it on a celeration chart

The Standard Celeration Chart plots count per minute on a semi-logarithmic scale across calendar days, so equal slopes mean equal proportional growth. The slope of your line is your celeration, written as a multiplier such as ×2 for growth. Because it shows growth as a multiplier, a learner starting at 10 per minute and one starting at 40 can compare how fast each is improving. See how the chart works and how we measure.

Common mistakes

Making cards too long. A card you cannot answer in a second or two defeats the “fast” in SAFMEDS.
Not shuffling, so you memorize position instead of content.
Tracking only correct answers. Incorrects show you what to fix.
Treating a high count as readiness for the exam. A fast, accurate deck shows you know that deck. It does not tell you how you will do on all 75 scored questions.
Memorizing the exam. The BACB’s exam terms prohibit sharing or reconstructing exam questions, so build cards from the public outline and your training, not from remembered test items.

Our lessons include SAFMEDS fluency sprints charted on a Standard Celeration Chart, and the first three frames are a free sample.

Study this with Behavior Celeration .CLICK!

The RBT track is $10, one time, lifetime access (43 tasks, 129 lesson frames). Try the free sample of 3 frames first. Lessons use programmed instruction with prompt fading, plus SAFMEDS fluency sprints charted on a Standard Celeration Chart. See how mastery works and how we measure it.

Try the free sample

All sales final: no refunds. The lesson content is AI-assisted and machine-validated, and has not yet been independently reviewed by a BCBA (details). It is a study aid, not an exam guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

What does SAFMEDS stand for?

Say All Fast a Minute Each Day Shuffled. It is a flashcard fluency routine from the precision teaching tradition: one-minute timings of a shuffled deck, with correct and incorrect counts charted over days.

Will SAFMEDS help me pass the RBT exam?

We do not claim that. It is a way to practice vocabulary and concept discrimination to fluency. The exam also tests judgment on scenarios, so combine it with your training materials, scenario practice and supervisor feedback. No study method can guarantee a pass.

How many cards should my deck have?

There is no BACB rule. We suggest starting with a few dozen cards from one outline task at a time so progress is visible, and adding more once that deck is going well.

Can I use real exam questions as flashcards?

No. The BACB's exam terms prohibit disclosing or reconstructing exam questions. Build cards from the public test content outline and your training materials.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-23 against the BACB documents above for the exam facts. The study routine is our own suggestion, and the BACB does not endorse any study method. Behavior Celeration .CLICK! is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, and buying study materials does not guarantee you will pass.