ISA offers a variety of educational materials to help arborists improve their arboricultural knowledge. Each week we will feature a product, or group of products that will enhance your arboriculture education. This week, ISA is featuring the BCMA Guide for Exam Preparation by Sharon J. Lilly.

The BCMA Guide for Exam Preparation is designed to help candidates study for the ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® (BCMA) certification, and is intended to help ISA BCMA™ program candidates, assess 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,” said Lilly, author of the Arborists’ Certification Study Guide. “Some knowledge is gained through books, seminars, and formal classroom education. Other knowledge is accumulated through years of experience in practicing arboriculture. Yet acquiring this knowledge is not sufficient to pass the ISA BCMA exam. A candidate must be able to apply that knowledge in scenario-based questions, which requires analysis of data provided, application of knowledge from one or more areas, recognition of potential pitfalls, and selection of the best response.”

The Guide includes a preparation section that provides study guidance, a 50-question preliminary assessment test, and a 150-question practice exam to provide test taking experience. Additionally, each chapter of the book contains learning objectives, key terms and definitions, self-assessments, recommended resources for further study, and practice questions with detailed answer explanations.

Lilly said she created the guide to help people who are interested in pursuing the ISA BCMA credential, but may find the process intimidating.

“Many knowledgeable and experienced arborists have indicated that they are somewhat intimidated by the ISA BCMA exam,” she said. “Although they would be proud to achieve the credential and they recognize its value, they have heard that the exam is difficult and there is no study guide. The list of books to study is extensive and most people do not know where to start.”

To help arborist prepare, rather than presenting a narrative of text, the BCMA Guide for Exam Preparation guides arborists to additional resources to help them prepare.

Prepare for the next step in your arboriculture career today!

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.