ASWB 4 Exams

The Association of Social Work Boards has four assessments that are used as requirements to receive a license. These four areas are Bachelors, Masters, Advanced Generalist and Clinical. Different legal venues have their own requirements, and not all require a person to test in every area. Some boards require a candidate to obtain pre-approval before taking the assessments, but some do not. Each individual needs to get requirement information from the appropriate board for licensure in the jurisdiction.

All four tests have 170 questions. They are all multiple-choice exams, and each question has four possible answers. These questions were created to demonstrate a candidate's mastery of the minimum skills, knowledge and abilities needed for that test level. Out of all the questions, twenty are not part of the score, but instead are used as pre-testing questions, similarly to the LSAT. These are put into the test to see how valuable they are for use on upcoming assessments. These pre-test questions are sprinkled through the whole assessment. Each candidate will have four hours to finish. The ASWB 4 Exams are given via computer.

The subject areas of the four exams and their relative weighting are as follows:

Bachelors Exam: Human Development and Behavior in the Environment (14%); Issues of Diversity (7%); Assessment in Social Work Practice (20%); Direct and Indirect Practice (21%); Communication (10%); Professional Relationships (5%); Professional Values and Ethics (13%); Supervision in Social Work (2%); Practice Evaluation and the Utilization of Research (2%); Service Delivery (5%); Social Work Administration (1%).

Masters Exam: Human Development and Behavior in the Environment (18%); Diversity and Social/Economic Justice (7%); Assessment, Diagnosis and Intervention Planning (11%); Direct and Indirect Practice (22%); Communication (7%); Professional Relationships (5%); Professional Values and Ethics (11%); Supervision, Administration and Policy (8%); Practice Evaluation and the Utilization of Research (2%); Service Delivery (9%).

Advanced Generalist Exam: Human Development & Behavior in the Environment (10%); Issues of Diversity (5%); Assessment, Diagnosis and Intervention Planning (24%); Direct and Indirect Practice (16%); Communication (7%); Relationship Issues (5%); Professional Values and Ethics (12%); Supervision and Professional Development (3%); Practice Evaluation and the Utilization of Research (4%); Service Delivery (11%); Administration (3%).

Clinical Exam: Human Development & Behavior in the Environment (22%); Issues of Diversity (6%); Diagnosis and Assessment (16%); Psychotherapy and Clinical Practice (16%); Communication (8%); The Therapeutic Relationship (7%); Professional Values and Ethics (10%); Clinical Supervision, Consultation and Staff Development (4%); Practice Evaluation and the Utilization of Research (1%); Service Delivery (5%); Clinical Practice & Management (5%).