SWEAR
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
DOES SWEAR SUPPORT GETTING RID OF LICENSURE?
No. We support equitable licensure. Licensure does not need to be based on exams that have no proof that they protect the public or are correlated with ethical practice.
DON'T EXAMS PROTECT THE PUBLIC?
No! This idea is based on the presumption that passing the exams is related to more ethical and
effective practice. However, there is no evidence that this relationship exists. There is much more
evidence that indicates ongoing validity problems with the exams (see, for example, Albright & Thyer,
2010 or Apgar & Luquet, 2022).
DON'T OTHER MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONS HAVE LICENSING EXAMS?
Yes, but social workers lack parity with like professions, none of which have four different national exams that apply to multiple levels of licensure. There is only one national exam required to be a licensed Marriage and Family Counselor, Art Therapist, Professional Counselor, and Psychologist. The redundancy and quantity of social work exams places unnecessary burden on practitioners, resulting in huge and wasteful expenses of money and time
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT SOCIAL WORK EXAMS ARE BIASED?
The available evidence strongly suggests exam bias and major validity problems. The huge exam outcome disparities by race, age, and native language do not reflect academic outcomes or the reality of the practice. Additionally, there is recent research that uncovers several racial microaggressions embedded in exam questions. We also know that ASWB does not follow the best practice methodological standards laid out by the National Council on Measurement in Education. ASWB has been unwilling for decades, and continues to be unwilling, to make appropriate data available for outside research and verification.
COULDN'T EXAM DATA BE RELATED TO THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK ATTENDED?
​While there are some exceptions, racial, age, and other disparities are persistent and consistent nationwide, across schools of social work. Even in schools that have students with higher overall passing rates, there are notable disparities within schools. (ASWB's website does not make it easy to link to the results of individual schools, but the search engine is here.) These results suggest that the disparities have more to do with the exams than they do with the quality of education.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ELIMINATING THE EXAM AT LOWER LEVELS?
First, it would create parity with other related professions, which only require one national
standardized exam for licensure. Regarding the higher level clinical exam, providing an effective,
human-based alternative assessment would more accurately assess practice quality, protect the public,
and prevent future discriminatory impact on independent clinical practice.
Second, in the context of the COVID pandemic, we are experiencing a severe shortage of mental health
workers to meet current need. Eliminating the initial exams will immediately increase the social work
workforce, providing communities with additional diverse, capable, well-trained practitioners.
Third, eliminating the initial exams addresses the clear racism, ageism, and systemic discrimination
that the exams represent. The alarming outcome disparities, along with ongoing issues of validity,
means that the exams are needlessly perpetuating inequality, keeping numerous Black, Indigenous,
and other social workers of color from making a living and advancing in their profession. Social work,
and our communities, stands to benefit immensely from a more diverse network of professionals.
WHAT ABOUT THE COMPACT?
Good question! The Social Work Interstate Compact has passed the necessary number of states to be implemented, but the commission still needs to be formed. It may not be rolled out until late 2025 or into 2026, according to what we have read. The Compact Commission will determine certain rules, such as whether a licensing exam is necessary at the Bachelors or Masters levels. Maryland did not pass the Compact in the 2024 legislative session; we are confident that there will be efforts in 2025. Thus far, SWEAR has remained neutral on the issue of the Compact.
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If Maryland were to eventually pass the Compact, we would be allowed have our own process for "single state" Maryland-only licensing and a differing process for "multistate compact" licenses. Therefore, Maryland could both join the Compact and eliminate exams at any licensure level, regardless of what the Compact Commission might decide.