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 […]

In words and actions, the Board of Directors reaffirms ASWB’s values.

Policy enforcement initiative beginnings When the initiative began in 2016, the Board of Directors established a five-year time frame to allow member boards that were not following policy to make needed changes. The primary reason for the initiative was outlined in a letter from ASWB to boards: “Enforcing appropriate use of the exams helps maintain […]

At its August meeting, the ASWB Board of Directors approved a member board’s waiver request for Clinical exam candidates to sit for the exam after 18 months of supervised experience. The approval was consistent with earlier decisions the Board has made for other waiver requests related to the Clinical exam category. With this approval, the […]

Building on successes in 2019—which included training 25 new item writers and facilitating committee approval of 43 percent more items than the previous year—the department has new initiatives for ensuring item quality. To accomplish these tasks and help with ongoing work, ASWB recently hired three social workers with long experience in exam development. Item bank […]

ASWB CEO Dwight Hymans has kept the ASWB Board of Directors up to date on staff activity during the pandemic, noting: “It certainly has been a time of uncertainty and disturbance. But the resilience of ASWB staff and their dedication to the organization have been key to meeting the challenges and making the adjustments. I […]

ASWB’s signature program, the development and maintenance of the social work licensing examinations, remains strong in the face of challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most significant of the challenges has been Pearson VUE’s suspension of testing at its test centers in the United States and Canada beginning on March 17. Cancellation of the March […]

Typically, this license is issued to social workers with an MSW who are in the process of acquiring experience and supervision hours toward earning their Clinical license. The law goes into effect January 2021. According to ASWB Policy 2.1, “The Clinical exam has been developed for use as a licensure requirement by member boards that […]

  In 2016, ASWB drew a line. To protect the validity and reliability of the licensing examinations, the Board of Directors established a five-year time frame for member boards to bring their use of the ASWB licensing exams into compliance with ASWB examination policy 2.1, Procedures. “We are past the halfway point for compliance review,” […]