ASWB Exam Advice: Keep It Simple

Words of wisdom from a now-licensed social worker:

"Somewhere it said not to study in the 24 hours right before taking the licensing exam. I ignored that. I ignored just about everything that said when not to study, what not to study. When in doubt, I studied. What did I realize after I'd taken the exam? I should've listened.

The exam is not complicated. You're being tested to see if you're ready to be a licensed social worker. That is, can you competently help people in social work situations? Without doing harm...without overstepping your bounds ("scope of practice" questions are pretty much guaranteed). What the people who put together the exam want to make sure is that, once you're licensed, they won't have to deal with you again. You'll do your work, be professional, and stay out of trouble.

So keep it simple. If you're basically competent and know your way around the basics of the DSM and the Code of Ethics, you're more than halfway there. Next is learning how to take the exam. And you know most of that too--you've gotten all the way through graduate school. You've taken lots of tests.

This one is bigger, though. Have you ever taken a four hour exam?  What's the last time you did anything for four hours straight?  170 questions was more at once than I'd ever encountered. That takes some getting ready for. Takes some training. That means practice. So do that some. And then you're ready. You know the content, you know what they're looking for, you know how sit still for four hours, you're ready. 

Is that all? Yes! Really? Really!"

Free Social Work Exam Study Guide?

A recent post at SWTP focused on a quick, free way to get your Freud learned. The resource: AllPsych.com.  Have you poked around there? What the site really amounts to is a free study guide for the social work licensing exam. Developmental theories? All there. DSM-IV? Yep. And on and on. The Psychology 101 section alone contains a huge chunk of what's worth reviewing for the exam. 

Of course, social work isn't psychology and psychology isn't social work. No one's suggesting you limit yourself to this one resource. But as you're putting your study materials together, you could do much worse than digging into All Psych...some practice tests (e.g., SWTP)...and, of course, the NASW Code of Ethics. You'd be off to a very good start.

Introduction to the Social Work Exam

Hi, I'm the social work licensing exam. Pleased to meet you. I'm so glad you're planning to take me. (I know you don't really have a choice if you want to get licensed, but still I'm flattered.) I don't like to play games, so I'll give you some basics about me that will make it easier when you try to pass me. Here goes:

I'm given by the ASWB nationwide (except in California--but that'll change sooner or later). There's lots of information about me on the ASWB website, which I'm sure you can track down--you're a resource-harnessing social worker after all! [It's aswb.org -- ed.]  I'm 170 questions long (200 in California). Of those questions, 20 are testers for future versions of me--they don't count on your score. But I don't want you to worry about what's a tester and what's not. The only way knowing about testers might be useful is so when you face a question you get stumped by, you can say, "Whatev', probably a tester." Otherwise, approach each item on me as if it counts, with tender loving care.  You get four hours to complete me ("You complete me"--ha, ha).  

How should you get ready for our big date? There are simple things you can study--lots of them are discussed on this very blog. For example, get to know my pal, the NASW Code of Ethics. Also get a handle on the basics of that oversized, self-important brick of a book, the DSM.  Just focus on diagnoses that social workers tend to encounter in front-line practice (you know--bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, depression, personality disorders...that stuff). 

Please, don't overprepare--I'm not impressed with deep technical knowledge about obscure topics in psychology. I just want to be sure that you think like a social worker and might actually act like a social worker once licensed. Here's a trick: lean on textbook social work more than your hands-on experience in the field. I test for ideal social work, not the way things really work. 

One more thing, try out some real-time practice tests (the one linked a bunch on this blog will do nicely). [It's SWTP -- ed.] Practice tests will give you a pretty good idea of what our big, four-hour sit-down will be like. And how you hold up under these unusual conditions. Do you run out of steam? Lose focus? Try more practice tests! Build those muscles. Think of it as a workout. Wear sweats if it helps.

Just like the practice exams, I won't leave you waiting to know how our time together turned out. Once you submit your scores, your result will pop right up.  I hope it's PASS! 

Thanks for all the work you do. I love social work. I love social workers! I'm rooting for you. Good luck!

More Test Anxiety Help

Rare is the test-prepper who is able to meet the social work licensing exam with calm and equanimity. The exam is big and the stakes are high. A little bit of anxiety can help motivate studying. More than that tends not to be terribly useful. So step back, take a breath, follow some of the tips from the sites linked below, and go (calmly) get licensed! 

• Is it possible to overcome test anxiety? (MayoClinic.com)
• Test Anxiety (Illinois.edu)
• Strategies to Manage Test Stress and Nerves (About.com)

Good luck!

Social Work Exam Study Guides

Once upon a time, a set of big, bulky social work study guides was essential in preparing for the social work licensing exam.  Nowadays, not so much.  All the material filling up those volumes is now available for free around the web.  You just have to do a little bit of searching. 

And remember, you probably already know most of what you need to know for the exam. The stuff you don't know yet is easily learned. Reread the NASW Code of Ethics. Brush up on key DSM categories (the ones you'd find in front-line social work--the ones that you've been charting).  Do practice questions. Keep it simple.

Here are some places to get started:

• Pass the ASWB Exam (you're there!; see the sidebar for some essential links--to the ASWB, to the NASW Code of Ethics, to online DSMs... Plenty more in posts.)
• Study Tips @ SWTP (includes a sections on exam-taking rules of thumb, anxiety management, and essential review)
• Wikipedia (of course!)
• The Encyclopedia of Social Work (it's like the Social Work Dictionary exploded; free access slated to end after Sept. 9, '13)

If you must have something printed, there's always the short study guide published by the ASWB, available at their site (aswb.org).  It's a simple walk-through of what to expect on the exam--costs thirty bucks, last we checked.

Have fun and good luck!

Jean Piaget for Social Work Exam Preppers

Celebrate Jean Piaget's August 9th birthday by brushing up on his theories.  Here are some links and a video to help you out:

• Article at Simply Psychology
• Stages at About.com
• More at Wikipedia

(Again, don't overstudy. If this shows up on your social work exam at all, it'll likely amount to one question at most.)

More Free Social Work Exam Questions

Over at Social Work Test Prep, a new way to get to a fresh batch of free social work exam questions: Create an account, go to the Bonus Exam page. There you're given a URL to share wherever (Facebook, Twitter, and email seem like naturals). When someone clicks on your link and buys an exam, you're automatically credited and a bonus exam--currently 30 questions--is yours. An email gives you a heads-up. Bonus to the bonus is that you don't have to buy anything yourself. Just link, lie back, and wait.