ASWB exam pass rates by state/province
The map below provides information on first-time and eventual pass rates for the Clinical, Masters, and Bachelors exams by state/province for the time periods 2011–2021 and 2018–2021.
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Note: Data shown may not reflect all test-takers because those who selected options such as Prefer not to say or filled in their own identifiers were excluded from this analysis. These options were not available to test-takers at all points during the target time period. ASWB has altered the response options available on the exam registration forms and will continue to evaluate these options to ensure test-takers may accurately respond.
About the data
- First-time pass rates include those test-takers who took an exam for the first time during the target time period and passed the exam.
- Eventual pass rates include all test-takers, both repeat and first-time, who tested during the target time period and eventually passed the exam. For those test-takers who took the exam more than once during the target time period (i.e., repeat test-takers), only the most recent attempt is included in the analyses.
Pass rates are presented for each state/province at the aggregate level (i.e., all test-takers) and by demographic categories. To protect the privacy of individual test-takers, statistics are not shown for categories with less than 10 test-takers.
The demographic data presented in these maps is based on self-reported test-taker information. For more information on the methodology used in analyzing this examination performance data and demographic categories, please see the 2022 ASWB Exam Pass Rate Analysis.
Key findings
Test-taker population
- Between 2011 and 2021, the U.S. states with the highest numbers of first-time test-takers for the Clinical exam were New York (13,721), California (13,603), and Michigan (11,518). During this same time period, the states with the highest numbers of first-time test-takers for the Masters exam were New York (30,628), Texas (15,476), and New Jersey (13,886). For the Bachelors exam, the number of first-time test-takers was highest for Ohio (10,052), Minnesota (4,860), and Texas (3,126) during the same time period.
- Between 2011 and 2021, the largest proportions of first-time test-takers from historically marginalized communities were observed in Georgia (44% African American/Black), California (34% Hispanic/Latino), and Hawaii (25% Asian).
Pass rates
- Both first-time and eventual pass rates from 2011–2021 tended to be higher for states in the Northeast and Midwest.
In U.S. states that had more than 500 test-takers annually, Maine, Wisconsin, and Minnesota had consistently high pass rates across all three exams. - In Canada, British Columbia consistently had the highest first-time and eventual pass rates across all exams between 2011 and 2021.
- Demographic pass rate trends by state/province largely mirrored the trends observed in the association’s 2022 ASWB Exam Pass Rate Analysis. Women tended to have higher pass rates than men, white test-takers tended to have higher pass rates than test-takers from other race/ethnicity groups, and test-takers in lower age categories (e.g., 18–29) tended to have higher pass rates than test-takers from higher age categories (e.g., 50 and older) across many states/provinces.
Background data
To aid in the interpretation of these findings, links to relevant datasets are provided below. These datasets help provide additional context around other factors—such as income, poverty, and projected job growth—that may directly or indirectly affect pass rates.
United States
2020 Income and Poverty estimates (United States Census)
2020 National Survey on Children’s Health (United States Census)
2020 Trends in Child Well-Being (The Annie E. Casey Foundation)
(includes indices measuring economic well-being, education, health, and family/community factors)
2020 Employment and wage estimates for social workers (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics)
2021 Debt-to-income ratio by state (United States Federal Reserve)
Contributing to the conversation
ASWB has published the 2022 ASWB Exam Pass Rate Analysis as part of the association’s commitment to participating in data-driven conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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