Open Access Journals at IU Indianapolis
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In Pursuit of the Status Quo: ASWB\u27s Research, Grantmaking, and Regulatory Practices
No full textThe Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Examination Program is used in all 50 states to regulate the practice of clinical social work and in the majority of states to regulate the practice of masters and bachelors-level social work. After releasing descriptive data demonstrating biases in exam pass rates by race, age, and dominant language, ASWB engaged in research and regulatory actions that violate social work ethics and psychometric best practices. This article will critique the research, grantmaking, and regulatory practices that support the ASWB Examination Program using extensive citations to psychometric standards, ASWB’s publications and exam documentation, and the researchers’ experiences engaging with ASWB to study the cause of exam score disparities. The analysis will reveal how, after their 2022 release of data demonstrating exam bias with respect to race, age, and language, ASWB funded researchers already affiliated with ASWB to support what it already tells test-takers in its exam guidebook–only structural factors bias exam scores, not psychometric flaws internal to the examination. Moreover, ASWB implemented solutions to exam bias without proper investigation and psychometric support. Because of ASWB’s position as the sole publisher and purchaser of licensing examinations, individual state boards are unable to make incremental changes to prevent biased ASWB examinations from closing the profession of social work to groups for whom the exam is invalid, unreliable, and unfair
From Alternative Pathways to Abolition: Abolish the ASWB Exam
No full textIn 2022, the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) provided for the first time the demographics on all five of its examinations between the years 2011 and 2021. The pass rates demonstrate a foundationally discriminatory system that routinely fails Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) while passing white social workers. Implementing critical race theory and abolitionist social work practice to analyze the foundations of the ASWB exam, this article investigates five routes to social work licensure including performance assessments/simulations, oral examinations, portfolios, jurisprudence exams, and provisional licensure. However, the analysis demonstrates that each of these alternatives produces inequitable overall outcomes leading to further marginalization of BIPOC social workers. Instead, the authors advocate for the abolition of the social work exam. Abolition would establish the most equitable overall outcome for social workers within the social work licensure examination process, for all social workers, while simultaneously challenging white supremacy within the social work field
Examining State Policy Responses to Racial Disparities in Social Work Licensure Exams
No full textThis study explored how states responded to the release of the 2022 ASWB Exam Pass Rate Analysis, which revealed significant disparities in pass rates between Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) test takers and their White counterparts on the Association of Social Work Boards’ social work licensure exams. Using the conceptual framework of policy advocacy developed by Gen and Conley Wright (2013) to assess the inputs, activities, and outcomes associated with these state-level initiatives, National Association of Social Workers’ state Chapter Directors were interviewed to better understand how different states worked to rectify inequities in licensure outcomes. Findings showed the political landscape, resources and stakeholder investment were key to progress on expressed outcomes. While the policy advocacy framework helped to elucidate the different inputs and activities between states, it was not found to be predictive of the expected outcomes associated with those identified variables
Board Certification: Its Requirements, Process, and Value - The Personal Experience of a Muslim Chaplain
No full textTrauma-Informed Pastoral Care: How to Respond When Things Fall Apart by Karen A. McClintock
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TDSI Aggregating Travel Destination Sustainability Rankings Using PCA
No full textThis study proposes a novel method for aggregating Travel Destination Sustainability Index (TDSI) rankings using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). By weighting and averaging principal component scores derived from multiple sustainability indicators, the method yields a unified and objective ranking of global tourist destinations. The approach is demonstrated using a dataset of 136 destinations and six sustainability indices. Results highlight the value of data-driven techniques in enhancing transparency, comparability, and strategic planning in sustainable tourism. Implications for policy, destination management, and future methodological innovation are discussed
