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The ASWB Associate exam

For jurisdictions that license applicants without a social work degree. It shares its content outline and its question bank with the Bachelors exam and differs only in the passing standard.

Commonly leads to SWA, LSWA — though the title varies by jurisdiction. Check yours.

What this exam actually weights

  • I. Values and Ethics35%
  • II. Assessment and Planning33%
  • III. Intervention and Practice32%

Associate and Bachelors share one content outline and one question bank. They differ only in the passing standard, so either choice studies the same material.

How many pass it first time

71.5%

Of the 407 people who sat the Associate exam for the first time in 2025 across all ASWB member jurisdictions.

ASWB notes that pass rates are most representative for groups of more than 200 candidates. This cohort is well above that.

Source: ASWB exam pass rates, last verified August 16, 2026. We publish no pass rate of our own — no preparation provider can honestly claim one.

What we cover for it

110
applied knowledge statements, each a written lesson
2,004
practice questions, each with a full rationale
12
full-length mocks, with no question repeated across any two

Scoped to this exam. Of the 124 applied knowledge statements across all four content outlines, 110 are on the Associate exam — the rest are not shown to you and are not counted against you.

A question from this exam

From Ethical Principles and Responsibilities, which you can read in full without an account.

What does the NASW Code of Ethics say about the relationship between violating one of its standards and legal liability?

  1. AViolating a standard does not by itself create legal liability
  2. BViolating a standard by itself creates legal liability
  3. CViolating a standard creates liability once a board is notified
Read why

The format

The same for every category: 122 questions, of which 110 are scored and 12 are unscored pretest items, in 2 sections of 61 with 240 minutes in total. More on how the exam works.

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ASWB exam prep for every category — written lessons, practice questions with full rationales, and full-length mock exams built around how the exam actually works.

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ASWB is a trademark of the Association of Social Work Boards. ASWB Master is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or approved by ASWB. All content is original and was written against publicly published content outlines. No real exam question appears in this product. Content is provided for educational purposes only, does not constitute clinical, legal or licensure advice, and no exam result is guaranteed.

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