2018 ASWB Social Work Exam Changes

If you’re getting ready to take the licensure exam at any level, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest changes. In 2018, the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) made changes to all four of its exams, the Bachelors Exam, Masters Exam, Advanced Generalist Exam, and Clinical Exam, for the first time since 2011. The changes are intended to reflect the ways social work practice has shifted during those years.

Here’s a summary of what changes to expect in the content areas when you sit for each of the four exams:

Bachelors Exam

The Bachelors Exam is designed to test the knowledge of graduates of a Bachelors Degree in Social Work (BSW) program.

The biggest change in the Bachelors Exam is on the human development, behavior, and diversity in the environment category, which will now be 27%,  rather than 25%, of the exam. The assessment section will also slightly increase to 20%, from 19% in 2011. To accommodate the increases, the professional relationships, values, and ethics exam will drop slightly to only 19% of the exam. Interventions with clients & client systems remains consistent at 26% of the test.

Masters Exam

The Masters Exam is a knowledge exam intended for those who have completed a Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW).

In 2018, the Masters Exam will increase the emphasis on interventions with clients & client systems three percentage points, from 21% to 24%. On the other hand, the other categories will decrease or remain level in content. The professional relationships section will reduce from 27% to 25%, human development, diversity, and behavior will go down from 28% to 27%, and assessment and intervention planning remains at a 24% weight.

Advanced Generalist Exam

The Advanced Generalist Exam is also for MSW graduates. It focuses on testing a broad mastery of social work practice in macro and micro practice settings.

This exam experienced important restructuring changes for 2018. Previously, the test looked at five competency areas, but now it will only ask questions for four. The new areas of competency are intervention processes and techniques across systems (32% of questions) and intervention process and techniques for use with larger systems (18% of questions). Professional relationships, values, and ethics will increase from 24% to 27% of questions, while human development, diversity, and behavior in the environment increases from 18% to 23% of the exam. The new exam no longer has the micro planning and assessment, micro planning and social work relationships, and macro practice sections.

Clinical Exam

The Clinical Exam similarly is intended for those with an MSW degree, specifically those who plan to do clinical work and therapy with clients.

Similarly to the Bachelors and Masters Exams, the weight of the current exams sections are changing. Human development and diversity is now only 24% of the test, down from 31% in 2011. The professional values and ethics section (renamed from professional ethics and values) increases slightly from 18% to 19%, as does assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning from 26% to 30%. Psychotherapy, clinical interventions, and case management will be 27% of the exam instead of 25%.

Make sure to adapt your study routine to reflect the new exam changes as you prepare to take the tests. Happy studying, and good luck!