The momentum is building. ASWB’s effort to collaboratively reenvision the examination development process is ramping up, and exciting developments are getting under way. The current work is aimed at making progress on the goals identified in the association’s Strategic Framework 2022–2023—specifically, to “engage with stakeholders to educate and increase transparency around the licensing exams.” That […]

ASWB is committed to listening to the entire social work community, learning from the profession’s diverse voices, and including as many perspectives as possible as it builds exams for the future of social work.

ASWB’s new strategic framework positions the social work licensing examination program as a central focus, directing the association to expand understanding and acceptance of the necessity for assessing social work competencies through valid and reliable competence measures.

All proposed legislation to a practice act should be presented to the relevant regulatory board for input. The expertise on the board is beneficial to the legislature when determining what’s in the best interest of the consuming public.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASWB shifted the planned in-person training to an interactive, online delivery method. The move helped to ensure safety for the new writers, consultants, and staff involved in the program without negatively affecting the quality of learning for participants or their enthusiasm. Diverse perspectives The first step in exam development involves […]

The change of delivery software won’t change the exam content or scoring, and ASWB member boards that routinely download exam scores won’t see a difference in how scores are reported, Carpenter says.

Social justice has been an underlying force in ASWB’s value structure since its inception. When social work regulators formed ASWB in 1979 to develop the licensing exams, it was with the intent of protecting the public. Public protection is one of the highest forms of social justice.

June 30 marks the five-year deadline set by the ASWB Board of Directors in 2016 for member boards to comply with exam use policies, and the majority of boards that use the exams have done so. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed things down considerably as emergency orders changed the landscape of regulatio

Updates from ASWB members and volunteers

The Association of Social Work Boards is committed to embracing the profession’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in every step of developing the social work licensing exams, now and in the future. We are also committed to providing high-quality exams that take into account the historically diverse nature of the social work profession, a […]