ISA offers a variety of educational materials and products to help arborists expand their professional knowledge and experience. Every month, we will feature a product or group of products. In June, ISA will feature the BCMA Guide for Exam Preparation, written by Sharon Lilly.
Widely recognized as the highest certification in the arboriculture profession, the ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® (BCMA) recognizes arborists who have reached the pinnacle of their profession.
The BCMA Guide for Exam Preparation is designed to help arborists study for the ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® (BCMA™) certification and is intended to help BCMA candidates assess their current knowledge, create a study program, select references for further study, and practice taking applied and scenario-based exam questions.
“The depth and breadth of knowledge required to pass the BCMA exam is great,” Lilly said. “Some knowledge is gained through books, seminars, and formal classroom education. Other knowledge is accumulated through years of experience in practicing arboriculture.”
This publication provides the framework to help BCMA candidates: (1) assess their current knowledge, (2) create a study program, (3) select references for further study, and (4) practice taking applied and scenario-based exam questions.
A preparation section at the beginning of the book provides study guidance and a sample of the types of multiple-choice questions that could be found on the ISA BCMA™ exam. Additionally, a 50-question preliminary assessment test will guide you to the chapters where you may need to focus more of your study time. The book's final section features a 150-question practice exam to provide additional test-taking experience.
“The Guide provides useful information to help with preparation, including topic frameworks, learning objectives, self-assessments, reference suggestions, key terms and definitions, study questions, and practice exam questions,” Lilly said. “It provides guidance for how to answer the higher-level questions encountered on the BCMA exam.
Each chapter contains learning objectives, key terms and definitions, a topic-specific self-assessment, recommended resources for further study, and practice questions with detailed answer explanations.
"The practice questions are particularly helpful, not only for expanding knowledge but for analyzing questions and understanding how to approach them to determine the correct answers," Lilly said.
While earning the BCMA credential is no easy task, the credential has significant value, prestige, and cachet within the profession and with employers, clients, and allied-industry professionals.
Please note: Any educational or preparatory material, whether published by ISA or not, should NOT be considered the sole source of information for an ISA certification examination. This publication and the ISA certification program exams are developed through separate processes and entities.