News

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

Mobility and portability are here to stay, and the regulatory community must consider and embrace models used to address social work practice through technology and otherwise.

ASWB is currently accepting proposals for research related to occupational and professional regulation, with an emphasis on social work regulatory best practices.

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 Council of State Governments and partners have announced that language is finalized for the Social Work Licensure Compact. The compact must be enacted into state law by at least seven states. At that time, the Social Work Compact Commission will be created and additional infrastructure established, and then multistate licenses will begin to be issued.

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 […]

Members of the Social Work Leadership Roundtable, representing their respective organizations (i.e., American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, Association of Social Work Boards, Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Council on Social Work Education, Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work, Grand Challenges for Social Work, National Association of […]

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 […]

This scenario may sound far-fetched, but without social work mobility, or the ability to easily transfer our social work licenses across state lines, it is actually a possibility. And it’s an example of why the social work profession should establish greater license portability. We are already facing a shortage of licensed social workers and mental […]

We are, together, on a justice journey, leading opportunities to advance equity in professional regulation. We, as regulators, want to have fair and just paths to licensure—that is something that benefits everyone. This effort calls for us to trust one another, to rely on one another, to elicit the aid of our allies, and to think differently and innovatively about how we make progress.