Exams for the future of social work: Putting the candidate experience at the center of exam development

“Meeting and exceeding industry standards are at the heart of examination development and administration at ASWB,” says Senior Director of Examination Services Lavina Harless, LCSW. “As we began to explore what the 2026 social work licensing exams would look like, we knew that the time was right to go beyond our typical content update and think carefully about what it means to create a more candidate-centric exam.”

Built on research, informed by conversation

ASWB’s analysis and publication of pass rate data in 2022 led to calls for adjustments to the assessment. But there are no easy solutions to addressing pass rate disparities.

Contextualizing research indicates that the source of the disparities can be traced back to systems issues that require a systems-based response. That means that every part of the profession — including professional associations and educational institutions — must collaborate to effect change.

As we began to explore what the 2026 social work licensing exams would look like, we knew that the time was right to go beyond our typical content update and think carefully about what it means to create a more candidate-centric exam.

ASWB has committed to acting within its sphere of influence as a regulatory association. The association aims to reduce candidate burdens and support candidates in their path to professional status. The exam program launched several research initiatives with these aims in mind.

One early project, the Community Conversations in 2023, involved research into the candidate experience. This qualitative research gathered feedback from hundreds of social workers about their licensure journeys. Findings from that investigation suggested further initiatives, some of them already complete or underway, including increasing education about exam development and administration processes and providing free exam resources for educators and supervisors.

Exploring exam structure alternatives

Other findings of the Community Conversations led ASWB to engage psychometricians to further study potential changes. These experts explored several possibilities. Some options, such as reducing the length of the exam, are being implemented. Some are planned for the future, such as the addition of innovative item types. Others were studied but not adopted, such as delivery of different questions to each candidate, selected automatically in real time, based on candidate answers.

One option that ASWB carefully considered but eventually decided against was implementing an exam structure that would include separate modules for each content area. ASWB sought input and recommendations from the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), PSI, and Pearson VUE.

Psychometricians used data on exam administrations to determine the effects of making the proposed change. The results indicated that modularizing the exam would negatively affect reliability, decrease pass rates, create undue burden for candidates on the path to licensure, complicate the licensure process for regulatory boards, and significantly increase candidate costs.

PSI staff reviewed the research and agreed with its conclusions. “More people would potentially need to retake a portion of the test,” said Isabelle Gonthier, Ph.D., ICE-CCP, chief assessment officer at PSI, “… which would not align with the stated goals of reducing the burden for candidates.

Practice analysis findings align with an enhanced exam design

Developing the content for the 2026 social work licensing exam began in 2024 with an analysis of the practice of social work. A rigorous research process that gathers data through a survey of thousands of social workers, the practice analysis is required to ensure the exam remains current and relevant. The development process also incorporates subject matter expertise provided by practicing social workers serving on the Practice Analysis Task Force. These contributions collectively led to the development of a new content outline for the exam’s next iteration.

The changes made to the licensing exam blueprints based on this practice analysis include structural and editorial modifications for comprehensiveness and relevance to current practice. While the number of knowledge statements was decreased to reduce redundancy and improve clarity, very little exam content was judged to need removal. Structurally, all examination blueprints were updated from four content areas to three. Because the values and ethics content area was ranked as more important than in previous studies, the blueprints emphasize this content area by giving it the highest percentage of questions.

Read more about the 2026 exam blueprints.

Another result of the practice analysis was a renewed focus on applied knowledge rather than the simple recall of information, consistent with psychometricians’ recommendations for an updated exam structure. In alignment with their recommendations, ASWB will develop the 2026 exam using an efficient and flexible compensatory structure.

The changes will have a direct impact on the candidate experience. The new exam will have fewer questions overall, fewer pretest questions, and a higher proportion of three-option questions. The questions selected for inclusion on the exams will meet a higher psychometric threshold for their ability to assess competence and will rely less on memorization, focusing more on the application of knowledge through the use of problem-solving, reasoning, and the application of knowledge. Because of these changes and the reduced number of content areas, the exams will require fewer items while remaining statistically valid and psychometrically reliable.

Examination Development Director Carl Hokanson, LGSW, says questions are being written and reclassified for the new content blueprint, and ASWB has already begun working on developing the new exam design.

“The 2026 exam will be even more relevant to the real-world practice of social work,” says Hokanson, “because of an increased emphasis on the complex skills that practitioners use every day.” Equally important, he adds, is the improvement in the candidate experience. “We anticipate that test-takers will feel even less time pressure than before,” he says, “because they are answering fewer questions in the same amount of time.”

The next step in developing the exams is a standard setting workshop to be held in January 2026. More than 75 volunteers were selected from more than 1,700 applicants to join a larger and more diverse panel of social workers than ever before. They will participate in a process facilitated by psychometricians from Pearson VUE, tasked with recommending the passing standard that represents minimum competence for entry to safe and ethical social work practice.

ASWB will launch the updated social work licensing exams in August 2026. Please stay tuned to the ASWB website and social media channels for the latest and most accurate information about updates to the social work licensing exams.