Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Practice Tests

The ASWB exam measures the minimum competency acceptable to practice social work within a given scope of practice. 

The ASWB offers four different levels of examination—bachelor’s, master’s, advanced generalist, and clinical. The bachelor’s exam is designed for entry-level social workers with a BSW degree. The master’s exam is designed for entry-level social workers with an MSW degree who have less than 2 years of practice experience. The advanced generalist and clinical exams are designed for entry-level social workers with an MSW degree and at least 2 years of postdegree experience.

For the Associates/Bachelors level: human development, diversity, and behavior in the environment; assessment; interventions with clients/client systems; and professional relationships, values, and ethics

For Masters level: human development, diversity, and behavior in the environment; assessment and intervention planning; interventions with clients/client systems; and professional relationships, values, and ethics

For Advanced Generalist level: human development, diversity, and behavior in the environment; intervention processes and techniques for use across systems; intervention processes and techniques for use with larger systems; and professional relationships, values, and ethics

For Clinical Social Worker level: human development, diversity, and behavior in the environment; assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning; psychotherapy, clinical interventions, and case management; and professional values and ethics

The licensing exams are pass/fail exams with a certain number of questions that must be answered correctly (a pass point) in order to pass the exam. The pass point varies, depending on the category and version (or form) of the exam the candidate takes. In general, the pass points range from 90 to 107 correct of the 150 scored questions; however, the pass point is determined by the jurisdiction in which the test is administered.