One of the enduring truths about the social work licensing exam is that it costs too much. It's expensive to register for the exam; preparation time is expensive (in a time equals money sense); exam materials can cost an outrageous amount. And while we're at it, why not lump in the cost of an MSW? It all adds up to more than most social workers can easily afford. That's something this blog aims to alleviate,in part. Reading through these pages costs you nothing (except time). Elsewhere on the web, there are resources aplenty that can help you gather the all the content you need to know for the exam. If you're especially resourceful, you may be able to piece together exam practice enough to help you get a sense of the exam process. Got exam content and process under your belt? You're ready to go.
Here are some favorites, new and old, obvious and less-obvious, worth checking out:
The NASW Code of Ethics. Did they hand Code of Ethics booklets out at graduation? That was free. So is this online version. A test-preparation essential.
ASWB.org - The ASWB administers the exam. The exam content outlines live on their site and are free of charge.
Study Guide for the Social Work Licensing Exam - SWTP's free offering, includes basics, study tips, and some free exam practice questions. After the Code and the Exam Content Outlines, a good place to start.
The Social Work Podcast - Great explorations of social work topics, many relevant to the exam--especially the ones about various psych theories.
Eye on Ethics - Dr. Frederic Reamer's long-running column in Social Work Today presents a wide variety of dilemmas similar--or perhaps identical--to the ones you'll face on the exam.
This is just a starter list. Also don't forget Wikipedia--good for deepening understanding about pretty much any social work topic you can think of. Other free, info-rich sites are a Google search away. If you've found ones you think are especially great, don't hesitate to share them in comments. Thanks and happy studying.
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4 comments:
I passed my test on the first try this past spring and the original study guide I bought was not useful at all. This blog and SWTP were the most helpful for me. SWTP's practice exams are really reasonably priced and made the most difference for me in test preparation. Its good practice for getting familiar with the style of questions but maybe just as important it helped me to get used to the sheer length of the test. Sitting for 170 questions is not easy!
I just have to write and let you know how helpful your blog was to me. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for how good your site is. I would seriously encourage you to think about writing a book as a study guide. I don’t do or leave comments on sites so writing this should let you know how much of an impact your site had on my passing the LCSW exam.
I just passed the LCSW exams last week (Nov. 20) after failing it on my first try! I was feeling dejected and looking for study sites on Google when I stumbled upon your blog. It truly was a God sent gift to me.
I found the theories explanation easier to follow and understand. Most importantly for me, I followed most of your advice. Advices like,
1. When reading questions think, “what would the book say”.
2. I used the ASPIRINS and for me FAREAFI religiously for first and best questions and they always worked and I got the answers correct.
3. I also learned two sections very well like you suggested… about making sure to learn some of the sections very well and others well enough to be able to answer the questions. For me it was “Human Behavior and Code of Ethics”. I devoured them while making sure I had a good grasp of the other sections.
Thank You, Thank You. You are doing some thing very good. Keep up with the good work.
What is ASPIRINS and FAREAFI?
Descriptions of those acronyms here: http://lcsw.blogspot.com/2014/08/social-work-exam-acronyms.html
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