In Pursuit of Equity: Examining ASWB Exam Disparities and Legislative Responses

The release of the Association of Social Work Boards’ (ASWB) exam pass rate data in August 2022 marked a significant moment for the social work profession. This special edition highlights demographic-based disparities among exam-takers and catalyzes a crucial discourse on professional regulation and ethics. The Journal of Evidence Based Social Work, recognizing the timeliness and importance of this discussion, has dedicated this special issue to exploring the implications of these findings. The articles presented in this special edition offer a multifaceted examination of the challenges and potential solutions surrounding the ASWB exams. Articles range from empirical studies assessing measurement invariance and exploring institutional predictors of pass rates, to critical analyses of alternative licensure pathways and the lived experiences of African American social workers. Each piece contributes to a collective understanding and a comprehensive advocacy framework for addressing systemic inequities within social work licensure.

It was the release of the ASWB pass rate report, in conjunction with attending a national peer support workshop by Dr. Elspeth Slayter and #SWEduActs in September 2022 that inspired our interest in this topic. The purpose of the workshop was to provide guidance to social work educators on how to talk to students about demographic-based disparities in the ASWB exam pass rate data. Guest speakers included Dr. Matt DeCarlo, Dr. Alexandria Lewis, and Dr. Lamont Simmons (#SWEduActs, 2022). This workshop was instrumental in humanizing these data, as well as understanding some of the history of the ASWB, and finally, for taking the pass rate report findings and placing them squarely within social work professional ethics. In the remainder of this introduction, we explain the links between the current pass rate topic and pending social work interstate compact legislation, which have practice and policy implications for the social work profession. The articles in this special issue can be used to inform the overarching policy position that social workers and professional organizations take with regard to the upcoming interstate compact legislation.

Institutionalizing the ASWB exam through interstate compact legislation

The proposed social work interstate compact (IC) policy represents a significant step toward institutionalizing the ASWB exam as a standardized measure across multiple states, further embedding it within the regulatory fabric of the profession. During the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, 14 states introduced bills proposing the creation of a social work interstate compact: Washington, Utah, Wisconsin, Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida (Council on State Governments, 2023a, 2023b). As of February 13, 2024, the number of states introducing social work interstate compact legislation has increased to 26, with the number of states enacting this legislation increasing to 2. Noting these changes, the implementation of interstate compact policy is seemingly imminent, rendering the points of criticism raised in this introduction-- including the codification of the national qualifying exam in this model legislation-- even more salient. The IC legislation is the result of a partnership between the Council of State Governments (CSG), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the ASWB. In July 2023, the Council of State Governments (CSG) hosted a legislative summit for policymakers to learn about the social work IC. Thus far, Missouri has been the only state to enact a bill into law, doing so in July 2023. For the IC to be viable, a minimum threshold of seven- member states must be met (Council on State Governments, 2023a).

Considering the partnering role of the ASWB in the currently proposed IC legislation, the role of ASWB as the administrator of the only qualifying national exam for social work, and the codification of a national exam in the proposed IC legislation, this raises some questions regarding conflicts of interest. One issue seems to be the timeline of events. It was less than a year before the July 2023 CSG legislative summit on the social work IC, that the ASWB released its August 2022 Pass Rate Analysis: Final Report, acknowledging troubling demographic-based disparities among first-time exam takers. As this special issue will present, there are several challenges with the ASWB licensing exam, from micro- (e.g., test validity), to mezzo- (e.g., professional regulations and standards), to macro– (e.g., social justice and generational wealth). And as other articles in this special issue will describe, the 2022 pass rate report came reluctantly and only after ongoing calls for data transparency by professional organizations and other advocates.

The August 2022 ASWB pass rate report for many social work professionals represented an opportunity for professional reflection and for using an evidence-informed approach to critique and advance the profession, ethically and competently. This special issue is one such effort at contributing to the national exam discourse; notably, a number of social work scholars have been tenaciously pursuing this line of research and advocacy prior to the release of the 2022 report – some of whom are featured in this issue. The sentiment that the 2022 ASWB pass rate report was a moment requiring pause, study, and intervention was seemingly shared by the ASWB itself. The Board announced a March 2023 request for proposals (RFP) related to licensing disparities: “The RFP identifies multiple areas of focus for research, such as variables associated with the results reported in the 2022 ASWB Examination Pass Rate Analysis; the impact of licensure on the social work profession.” Ultimately, the ASWB accepted three proposals, one of which examined licensure pass rate disparities and aimed to address the following research questions: (1) What factors impact disparity in pass rates for social work licensure? (2) What is the impact of disparity in licensure pass rate on the social work profession? (3) What are solutions to reduce disparity in pass rates for social work licensure? (Association of Social Work Boards, 2024). The award was announced on the winning recipients’ home institution website in September 2023, suggesting this research is ongoing. Perhaps it would be wise to continue the line of research and discussion that addresses problems with the existing national exam prior to creating an interstate compact that codifies a national exam.

The stated goal of the proposed social work IC is to support the mobility of licensed social workers. It is offered that the IC is itself an additional pathway to licensure, and that the IC would facilitate multistate practice among member states and reduce barriers to license portability (Council on State Governments, 2023b). However, the IC codifies the national exam, which itself is a barrier for social work licensure – and a barrier that disparately impacts social work exam-takers who are Black and African American, who are older, and/or for whom language is not their primary language (Association of Social Work Boards, 2022). It is important to note that data on exam takers with disabilities is lacking.

Next steps

The proliferation of social work IC legislation – in hurried fashion and arguably without due consideration for disparities in the ASWB national exam pass rate, while simultaneously codifying “a national exam” – raises many questions. It is hoped that the present special issue on exam pass rate disparities can help us to connect these topics more readily, informing how we advocate for the profession. Though many state NASW chapters are endorsing social work IC bills this legislative session – while also taking a stand against demographic-based pass rate disparities among ASWB social work exam-takers – it is suggested that we need to understand much more about what is included, and not included, in the language of these bills. Why, for instance, would “a national exam” be included when the ASWB funding of research on licensure pass rate disparities is presumably on-going. Given the negative publicity the 2022 ASWB pass rate report garnered, it is not difficult to imagine a few of the motivating factors. This special issue is being published at a highly important time and during a window when we can use this research to understand impending policy changes and implications for the profession (i.e., IC bills) – whether we are licensed practitioners, social work faculty, social work students, or social work program graduates. These issues affect us all, and even more importantly, those we serve.

The introduction of the IC legislation underscores how engrained the ASWB exam has become within the professional landscape of social work. As we contemplate next steps, this special issue serves as a nexus for evidence-informed advocacy. By examining the nuances of the legislative language and the ongoing research into licensure disparities, we aim to provide a foundation for informed policy positions that uphold the ethics and competencies of the social work profession. In doing so, we strive to establish informed stances that reinforce the ethical and professional standards of social work, ensuring that our advocacy reflects both the values of our profession and the diverse needs of the communities we serve.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.