Are there many confident relaxed license exam test-takers out there? Maybe, but they aren’t the ones I hear from. “I blanked out after the first how half-hour” or “I came to a question I didn’t know and my confidence collapsed” are much more typical. From my former life as a therapist I know it is useless to reassure, to tell someone, “Look how hard you’ve worked to prepare” or “You have been doing so well on the practice tests, relax!”. Nice tries, don’t help much. I don’t have the power to calm your nerves, but you do. Here’s how: First (and foremost) notice it! What specifically happens to ..read more

RED LIGHTS #1 – Don’t Put Your Real Self in the Question You also don’t want to choose an answer that relates only to your specific agency, policies, practices, etc. Of course it makes sense to draw on your work experience but please, remember that this is a national exam. What that means for you, is that local practices, policies and regulations are not the standards on the exams; only those that are widely-used and consistent from state to state are relevant.  An example is, of course, any U.S. federal program or policy. Medicare, Social Security, yes, Medicaid, no! In addition, do ..read more

Ok, we all know that social work practice isn’t totally built on basic facts. The license exams, all multiple choice questions, often have more than one answer choice of the four that by themselves, sound correct. This is known as the: “I can get it down to two answers and then I am stuck” problem. I hear this over and over, so how do you choose? Well, the help is concealed in the wording of the narrative part of the question, called the stem. For example: Claire is William’s supervisor in a large urban nursing home. He has been working there for 3 months and is well-liked by other staff. She ..read more

“There is so much to learn, I don’t know where to start.” “How can I possibly remember all the stuff that could be on the test, it covers everything?” I hear questions like this very often from social workers who are trying to face the (sometimes) fearsome challenge of preparing for their license exam. Go to ASWB.org, the website of the test creators, search for “KSAs” to review the content outlines for each test version. You can certainly become intimidated by the vast number of the topics in the outlines. One way to figure out what you have to learn is to become familiar with the way the que ..read more

The “Engage” Concept is a Popular Question on the Test The concept of “engagement’ is very likely to be included in the ASWB’s license exam questions. The need to engage your client at the onset or beginning of a professional relationship is well understood and almost predictable. Yet, indicators of a need for engagement also may appear during any moment of your connection with a client. Below  are some tips on how to recognize this important concept. For example: What do these three brief comments below have in common? Mr. Smith complained that he has been through many, many drug program ..read more

It’s very easy to get confused and lose your way when you read a test question. Often all four answers are “reasonable”, and you don’t have a basis on which to choose the correct one. Here’s a useful strategy: Ask yourself: What is this question about? For example: Mrs. Smith is meeting with a social worker to learn better ways to parent. She describes her three boys as “ wild and unruly”, mentioning that her husband was the one who they listened to. Since their separation three months ago, she is feeling frustrated, has little energy, and loses her temper easily. To best help the family the s ..read more

Are there many confident relaxed license exam test-takers out there? Maybe, but they aren’t the ones I hear from. “I blanked out after the first how half-hour” or “I came to a question I didn’t know and my confidence collapsed” are typical. From my former life as a therapist I know it is useless to reassure, to tell someone, “Look how hard you’ve worked to prepare” or “You have been doing so well on the practice tests, relax!”. Nice tries, don’t help much. I don’t have the power to calm your nerves, but you do. Here’s how: First (and foremost) notice it! What specifically happens to you when y ..read more

“I have failed once, and don’t know what I am doing wrong. Please help! This is a message I have received many times. You study hard: read the books, attend an all-day workshop, answer long lists of practice questions and get most of them right. Then, feeling confident, you take the test and “Oh no!” all that effort wasn’t enough to pass. “I am lost, I don’t know what I need to do to pass.” What do I need to do differently? How can I learn all this stuff? Well, it is true that there are many different kinds of learners; each person brings different professional experiences to the table, some ..read more

So you’ve been studying a lot and want to see how well you are doing, how much you’ve actually learned. The best way to find out may be to answer practice questions and see how many you get right. Good idea? Yes, but……. As with most things, quality counts. My definition of a “good question” is one that is close to the real ones: close in content, close in testing social work concepts, and uses the same question form as the real test. So what, rather “who” makes a top notch question writer? For the social work license exams, the only questions you can count on are those prepared by the ASWB (A ..read more

Question: Those “application” questions can be confusing! I often end up with two answers and can’t choose between them. Are there any guidelines to follow to help me choose the correct answer? Answer: Yes, but. Social Work isn’t chemistry. There will be some “fact” or “definition” questions on the exams, but most are situational, usually describing a client or a request for service, asking “What would the social worker do “first” or “next”? Social work practice isn’t random or chaotic; it follows an orderly sequence – usually. My description of this order boils down to three words: Engage, As ..read more