Everything the ASWB exam tests

Three content areas, 10 chapters, 124 written lessons. Every lesson maps one-to-one onto an applied knowledge statement in the content outline that took effect on 3 August 2026 — no grouping, no invention.

Chapters: 10
Lessons: 124
Questions: 2,169
Words of teaching: 221,025

Lesson counts vary by exam category — Associate and Bachelors share one outline, and some topics appear only on the clinical or advanced generalist exams. Each chapter below shows the range.

I. Values and Ethics

35% of your exam · 36% clinical

1. Ethical Principles and Responsibilities

8 lessons · 192 questions

2. Ethical Service Delivery

10–11 lessons by category · 260 questions

·Professional boundaries in the social worker-client/client
·Client/client system self-determination
·Mandatory reporting
·Documentation
·Governmental policies on service delivery
·Legal and ethical issues in surrogate decision-making
·Supervision and management
·Responsible billing practices
·Ethical issues in electronic practice
·Termination
·Research ethics

3. Diversity and Social Justice

9 lessons · 216 questions

·Anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches
·Environmental and economic justice
·Culture and its impact on behavior
·Accessibility
·Social justice
·Cultural impacts of exploitation across marginalized
·Privilege and bias and their impact
·Power differential and racial privilege
·Globalization

II. Assessment and Planning

33% of your exam · 32% clinical

4. Assessment Concepts

23 lessons · 414 questions

·Impact of poverty on individuals and families
·Trauma
·Addiction and substance use and abuse
·Indicators of abuse and neglect
·Family dynamics and functioning
·Dynamics of interpersonal relationships
·Mental and emotional illness
·Impact of out-of-home placement
·Impact of displacement and homelessness
·Co-occurring disorders and conditions
·Self-image and body image development
·Characteristics of perpetrators of abuse
·Impact of caregiving on families
·Indicators of exploitation
·Biopsychosocial assessment model and related components
·Effects of disability on functioning
·Typical and atypical child development
·Aging
·Racial and cultural identity development
·Defense mechanisms and their effects
·Impact of technology on clients
·Impact of urbanization and environment
·Client/client system competence

5. Assessment Methods and Techniques

10–11 lessons by category · 193 questions

·Risk of harm to self
·Principles and techniques of interviewing
·Clients/client systems in problem identification
·Assessment tools and mapping methods
·Sensitive and/or confidential information
·Resilience and coping abilities
·And methods of assessing motivation
·Mental status examination
·Clients’/client systems’ communication skills
·Information from records and evaluations
·Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

6. Assessment Practices

6 lessons · 108 questions

·The availability of and determining appropriate
·Factors in service and treatment planning
·Criteria for selecting intervention modality
·Cultural considerations in the creation
·Client/client system readiness for termination
·Common medications and their side effects

III. Intervention and Practice

32% of your exam

7. Practice Concepts

8–9 lessons by category · 145 questions

·Building and sustaining the helping relationship
·The social worker’s role
·Strengths-based and empowerment strategies and interventions
·Interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary team collaboration
·End of life practice
·Capacities and skill building
·Permanency planning
·Agency policies and their application
·Community organizing
·Writing formal documents and records

8. Intervention Methods and Techniques

24–28 lessons by category · 438 questions

·Principles of active listening and observation
·Verbal and nonverbal communication
·Trauma-informed care for various types
·Limit and boundary setting techniques
·Case management techniques
·Advocacy for needed services and resources
·Evidence-based practices
·Voluntary and involuntary clients/client systems
·Contracting and goal-setting techniques
·Practice with clients experiencing loss
·Emotional regulation techniques
·Crisis intervention and treatment approaches
·Stress management techniques
·Discharge and aftercare planning
·Coping and other self-care skills
·Techniques and methods for addiction intervention
·Service networks or community resources
·Problem-solving models and approaches
·Harm reduction techniques
·Conflict resolution methods
·Anger management techniques
·Task-centered approaches
·Psychoeducation methods
·Group work techniques and approaches
·Role modeling techniques
·Social change and social planning methods
·Assertiveness training techniques
·Role play techniques
·Family therapy models
·Couples interventions and treatment approaches

9. Practice Evaluation and Research

3–7 lessons by category · 88 questions

·Progress and effectiveness of intervention
·Agency programs
·Methods for evaluating practice effectiveness
·Basic and applied research design
·Quality assurance
·Program objectives and outcomes
·Program evaluation and related impact

10. Supervision and Administration

4–8 lessons by category · 115 questions

·Organizational development
·Supervisee’s role in supervision
·Supervision and consultation models and techniques
·Transference and countertransference within supervisory relationships
·Creating and revising agency policy
·Creating risk management protocols
·Leadership and management techniques
·Employee recruitment
·Fiscal management and resource allocation techniques