SWEAR
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here are some common questions and concerns about licensure reform and ASWB exam removal.
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Would this get rid of social work licensure?
No. We support a fair and effective licensing process. At present, a single multiple-choice exam can override every other indicator of professional readiness. We believe licensing should reflect a social worker’s education, training, and supervised experience — not just test performance. Removing outdated or unreliable exams would make the process more accurate and meaningful, not less rigorous.
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Would this be dangerous to the public?
No. There is no peer-reviewed evidence that passing the current exams correlates with safer or more ethical practice. In fact, the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) CEO acknowledged in her February 4 testimony that this relationship has never been demonstrated.
Research shows persistent problems with the exams’ validity (Albright & Thyer; 2010; Caldwell & Rousmaniere, 2022; Johnson & Huff, 1987; Randall & Thyer, 1994; Victor et al., 2023). When licensing tools don’t accurately measure competence, they fail both practitioners and the public. A licensing process grounded in proven professional standards, not unverified testing, will strengthen public protection.
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Shouldn’t schools do a better job of teaching to this test? Isn’t this based on the quality of social work education?
“Teaching to the test” is widely recognized as poor educational practice (Welsh et al., 2014). Social work requires critical thinking, judgment, and contextual understanding — qualities that cannot be accurately captured through multiple-choice questions.
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Students and educators consistently report that exam items often promote narrow or outdated approaches to practice. Many test-takers have been advised to “think like the test writers” rather than think like social workers, which highlights the disconnect between the exam and real-world professional expectations.
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While there are always differences among schools, data show consistent patterns of unequal outcomes across all types of programs. Even in universities with strong overall pass rates, disparities persist within their student bodies. This suggests that the issue lies with the exams themselves, not with the quality of education or instruction.
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Couldn't this be solved by better test preparation?
Unlikely. First-time and repeat test-takers already invest significant time, money, and energy in preparation. If increased test prep were truly the answer, we would see better outcomes across the board, but we do not. The fact that results remain uneven despite extensive preparation underscores that these exams are not effective measures of social work competence.
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Isn’t this discrepancy explained by broader societal factors?
The licensing exam is intended to measure professional competence, not background or circumstance. When test results consistently vary along predictable demographic lines, that signals a problem with the test’s design and validity.
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If an exam consistently produces lower scores for certain groups despite equivalent education and supervised experience, it is not functioning as a fair or reliable assessment. Recent research has even identified several questionable assumptions and cultural blind spots in test questions themselves.
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In addition, ASWB has not aligned its methods with the best-practice standards set by the National Council on Measurement in Education. The organization has repeatedly declined to share full data for independent analysis, limiting transparency and accountability. The available evidence indicates significant design flaws and a lack of external verification, both of which raise serious questions about the exam’s accuracy as a measure of professional readiness.
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Isn’t ASWB working on fixing their exams?
No. ASWB continues to deny that the exams themselves are the source of the problem. Concerns about fairness and accuracy have existed since the tests were created, and the organization has had decades to address them. Despite this, ASWB’s public statements, including testimony on February 4, have consistently maintained that their exams are sound.
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It’s also worth noting that ASWB has a substantial financial interest in maintaining the current testing system. As a nonprofit that generates most of its revenue from exam fees, ASWB earned roughly $1.5 million in 2023—about three-quarters of it from testing. This structure gives the organization a strong incentive to preserve the exams rather than meaningfully reform them.​​​
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Isn't ASWB doing research into this issue?
Their research focuses only on what they call “upstream factors,” such as education and socioeconomic variables, rather than the exam itself. ASWB has declined to release the full data necessary for independent review. By framing the problem entirely outside their own testing process, they pre-determine the outcome: that the exams are blameless. If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail.
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What do you mean ASWB does not follow sound methodological practices?
There are numerous examples of ASWB failing to meet accepted standards for test development and validation. State licensing boards (including Maryland’s) have not required the transparency those standards demand.
ASWB regularly removes test questions that perform inconsistently but does not adjust past scores to reflect those removals. This means a candidate could fail by one point on a test containing a flawed question that’s deleted the following week, yet their “failure” remains permanent. Reports suggest that up to 5 percent of questions are removed annually, potentially changing outcomes for thousands of examinees (DeCarlo, 2023; DeCarlo, 2025).
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Is there anything else ASWB has done that's problematic?
Yes! They modified their exam format administration but did not notify test-takers until two weeks after the change was already in place. (More details here.) This is a total abdication of responsible stewardship of high-stakes examinations! And for months afterwards, their $85 practice exam still ran on the old format! Additionally, ASWB has reduced the possible number of multiple-choice answers from four to three. They have not demonstrated how this addresses pass disparities based on demographic groups, nor have they provided any evidence that the exams with four and three questions are statistically equivalent measurements.
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Why add more consumers to the BSWE?
As a member of ASWB, the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners (BSWE) has tended to echo ASWB's positions rather than prioritize Marylanders’ access to services. When advocates first raised concerns about exam outcomes in 2022, BSWE deferred entirely to ASWB’s judgment.
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In early 2025, the Board launched its own survey of licensed social workers without input from the legislative workgroup or methodological safeguards to ensure broad representation. There is a great deal of evidence that the questions were provided by ASWB, and these questions were so biased that even ChatGPT detected it. This survey was designed to reinforce a predetermined stance from questions provided by the ASWB rather than collect balanced data. Increasing consumer representation on BSWE would strengthen accountability and ensure that licensing policies serve the public interest, not a single organization’s financial priorities.
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Additionally, we have evidence that the BSWE is not as transparent as it should be as required by the Public Information Act. One of our members is currently in mediation with them over their lack of transparency and accountability.
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Will this prevent Maryland from joining the Compact?
​​No. The Social Work Interstate Compact allows states to maintain their own "single state" licensing process while using different criteria for the optional "multistate" Compact licenses (lines 289-90 and 338-9). Maryland can (and did) join the Compact and still modernize its licensure process at any level of licensure.
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​Who are you?
We are SWEAR - a grassroots coalition formed in 2022 after ASWB’s data release exposed major flaws in the national examinations for social work licensure. We’re hundreds of Maryland social workers working together to ensure that licensing is fair, effective, and reflective of real professional skill. Our efforts are powered by volunteers, not large budgets. If you have questions or ideas, contact us at hello@swear-md.org.
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Reform opponents like to hypothesize about far-fetched possibilities in order to draw out fear from social workers and legislators. Here are our responses to their most common scare tactics.
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Would removing exams mean that social workers would be taken less seriously and could not be expert witnesses in court?
No. There is no evidence that eliminating these exams would change how courts or agencies view licensed social workers - even social workers who hypothesize this idea admit they have never actually heard of this happening. Judges determine expert-witness eligibility based on education, experience, and time spent with clients, not on test scores. Attorneys are never asked about their bar-exam results in court; the same logic applies here. Social workers earn respect for their skill, ethics, and dedication, not for passing a multiple-choice test.
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Won’t there be two tiered licensure - social workers who have and have not passed an exam?
Actually, the current structure already creates that divide, and proposed legislation would end it. Even the BSWE has eliminated the "How Licensed" field from the online verification database, with the Executive Director stating in the July 2025 BSWE meeting that it "doesn't really apply to public protection." Other states that have taken similar steps report no issues. As Illinois NASW Executive Director Joel Rubin told the Maryland workgroup, “A license is a license” (1:09:10).
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Will this lower social worker wages and affect insurance reimbursement?
No. Pay scales are based on education, license level, and experience, not on exam scores. The legislation does not change which license levels can bill insurance or perform clinical work. Moreover, social workers who were “grandfathered in” without exams decades ago have not experienced lower wages because of it.
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Doesn’t this diminish the effort of those who already passed the exams?
Not at all. The goal is to ensure that future licensing is based on proven competence, not test performance. We don’t preserve ineffective or unfair systems just because some people managed to succeed under them. Updating outdated requirements strengthens the profession and honors those who believe in a more accurate and inclusive measure of readiness.
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Will supervisors refuse to work with those who haven’t passed an exam?
There is no evidence for that concern. Many current supervisors view the exams as unnecessary hurdles and welcome the chance to mentor new professionals who demonstrate strong skills through education and practice experience. Over time, this approach can expand the pool of qualified supervisors and strengthen the profession’s mentorship pipeline.
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Will this water down or deprofessionalize social work?
No. Other behavioral-health professions - including marriage and family therapy, counseling, art therapy, and psychology - require only one national exam, not four separate ones. The current social work structure is unusually redundant and burdensome. Streamlining the process would reduce wasted time and expense without lowering standards or public protection.