I spent part of this weekend following up on an inquiry from a colleague about the repeat and first-time pass rate in their state (Maryland). Once I read their report, I realized I could update my calculations on the number of repeat examinations, and more than that, I could calculate the pass rate for 1st-time, repeat, and all test-takers.
Fifty-one PDFs later, I created this spreadsheet of ASWB Exams 2024 Pass Rates by State. The results knocked me backward because I did not realize how deep the problem had gotten.
In 2024, the 51 boards of ASWB rejected…44.6% of all LBSW applications, 43.06% of all LMSW applications, and 40.54% of all LCSW applications because of examination failure. This is the rate of occupational closure by examination in the social work profession.
That is because the national pass rate across all states and test-takers is…55.42% for LBSW exams, 56.93% for LMSW exams, and 59.06% for LCSW exams. I calculated this by adding all of the values in their state reports, since apparently such public reporting escapes ASWB’s responsibility.
The LBSW examination pass rate is unacceptably low, just 64.2% for first-time examinees. I am unable to reconcile the difference between my calculations at ASWB’s reporting of 67.2% pass rate. 29.1% of all LBSW examinations are for repeat examinees, and their re-examination pass rate is 34%, the highest of any ASWB exam.
The LMSW examination pass rate is substantially higher, 73%, identical to ASWB’s reporting. 37.2% of all LMSW examinations are for repeat examinees, and only 29.28% pass the re-examination, the lowest of any ASWB exam.
The LCSW pass rate is the highest of all ASWB exams, 75.05%, nearly identical to ASWB’s reporting. 36.4% of all LCSW exams are for repeat examinees, and only 31.19% pass the re-examination.
One-in-three state board applications is for a repeat test-taker, educated and trained but excluded from licensed practice. There is significant state variation in the degree to which examinations have bottlenecked their workforce. Here are a few states of note, while I work on visualizing states a whole.
Check out Florida’s massive bottleneck. Its board apparently believes exams are so precise that they can reject 62.6% of applications for clinical licensure in 2024.
Here is Michigan. At least they could credibly claim that first-time examinees are getting through 70% of the time, I guess? Still, rejecting 55.1% of your 2024 applicants would require a level of confidence in the validity of the examinations that beggars belief.
Maryland, on the other hand, has a bigger bottleneck at the Bachelors and Masters level, than the Clinical level–with the same pattern holding at all three levels.
Again, just a ridiculous amount of confidence to reject half of all applications.
I need to do additional visualization on which states are most impacted by the exam bottleneck, but the national data paint a clear picture. ASWB exams are keeping states from fully licensing qualified, educated, and well-supervised applicants for licensure.
Open Social Work 