News

ASWB recently took a major step forward in building competence assessments for the future of social work when a group of volunteers gathered for a working meeting. The Practice Analysis Task Force, composed of social workers selected for expertise and diversity, met in Reston, Virginia, September 7–9, 2023.

The Association of Social Work Boards today announced a strategic partnership with PSI, a leading testing provider, to administer its social work licensing examination program beginning in early 2024.

ASWB has undertaken a series of initiatives that will inform the development of updated competence measures that are even more reflective of today’s practice of social work. Our work on these new assessments builds off more than a year of ASWB’s investment in qualitative and quantitative research on the social work profession and individual practitioners’ experiences with licensure.

The 2022–2024 Practice Analysis Task Force, a group of 32 licensed social workers, provides subject matter expertise to ASWB’s next analysis of the practice of social work.

Last year, ASWB took the groundbreaking step of publishing pass rate data for the social work licensing exams to contribute to and lead engagement in profession-wide conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion. At that time, we also pledged to include a more diverse set of voices in our exam development process and provide more support and resources for educators and supervisors as they prepare licensure candidates. We are committed to listening to and learning from the social work com

The community conversations, an ASWB initiative to conduct qualitative research on experiences with licensing and the exams, are nearing the halfway point. Final results will be published alongside pass data in August 2023 and will be used as ASWB reenvisions its competence assessments.

The data highlighted disparities in exam pass rates for different demographic groups. For Black test-takers and older test-takers, pass rates were particularly low. The discrepancies seen in the data are unacceptable. Recognizing that multiple factors impact a test-taker’s performance and need to be addressed, we remain committed to doing our part and working with other […]

ASWB has contracted with the independent firm Fifth Theory to provide free test mastery mindset support to test-takers who are unsuccessful in passing the social work licensing exams. Fifth Theory’s research-based Test Mastery Inclusion program is designed to help test-takers be successful on a high-stakes exam. ASWB acknowledges that the personal and educational experiences that […]

The webinar offered a behind-the-scenes look at how the ASWB exams are developed and the steps ASWB takes to guard against bias and maintain reliability and validity. Harless shared information about ASWB’s initiatives to bring more voices into the creation of exams for the future of social work and to enhance the testing experience to reduce barriers.

Candidates can expect to see these improvements to the exam administration process starting in January 2023: Three-option multiple choice phased in Exam forms may contain both three- and four-option questions beginning in January 2023. The exam will gradually include more three-option questions going forward, with the goal of completing the transition by 2025. Exam questions […]