Opinion: I am Not the EXAM

By Michael Dubose, LMSW-Clinical

While we were working on this op-ed Michael passed the ASWB exam. Despite passing he still wanted to share his story - to help bring a voice to the growing number of social workers who are struggling with the exam. 

My name is Michael Dubose. I graduated from Wayne State University with both my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work. I have Graduate certifications in Alcohol and Substance Abuse and Gerontology. I completed my MSW in 2016 and have been working in case management and therapy services mostly serving dually diagnosed clients. I have worked in clinics and outpatient services. I also have worked with COPE for suicide prevention. Despite these credentials and years of experience I have had to step away from my practice as a result of continuing to miss a passing score on the ASWB exam by 3-5 points. 

I have spent money on tutoring, mentoring,  supervisors, study groups, practice exams and prep courses to only continue to fall short by 3 to 5 points. This has hurt my ability to become gainfully employed. I have worked hard and have over 200k in student loans for my social work degree which appears to be useless. I failed the exam 10 times so at a minimum I've spent $2,600 on the exam fee alone! It makes me feel inadequate as a person and professional. I don't believe passing the exam would make me a better social worker. 

Before losing my LLMSW I worked with many clients (under supervision) in private and non profit organizations and received feedback saying that I have saved and changed lives. When I lost my LLMSW I had to turn away clients who likely will never receive services again because of the impact of this broken relationship when I had to stop seeing clients. While this is a whole issue in and of itself I mention it to display my effectiveness as a clinician and productive member of our society. I’ve done this over and over as a social worker, before, during and after the pandemic. 

While the loss of income, professional identity and knowing that I have had to terminate services with my clients has been significant enough - I have a family with 4 children and it's a struggle to hide this from my family. While I try to protect them from this I know there is  mental anguish as their sense of normalcy has been destroyed as we’ve had to try to compensate for the financial hardships we’ve faced since I have had to change course professionally. All of this was taken by this exam not only from myself and my clients, but my family as well. 

The exam asks trick questions that are not culturally competent. Often asking what you should do first, next, or for the best answer amongst a list of choices that would all be reasonable given different cultural dynamics or scenarios. I have spoken with other test takers who agree that from their perspective some questions aren't very logical. I support continued education but to stop me from using my degree based upon a bias test is cynical.  

Me not passing the exam has caused me anxiety and panic which are documented. It's caused me to go into debt and creditors call me non-stop, sue me and are garnishing my wages - all as consequences of the loss of income I have had since being unable to renew my LLMSW or apply for my LMSW because of the barrier of the ASWB exam. 

I would encourage students to take the test as soon as possible. Don't wait! I want readers to know that this test should not define our worth! Knowing this is important but as it stands as a barrier to practicing in our field it kind of does define our worth to the licensing board and employers. 

I know that this is NOT an accurate measure of our worth even if our licensing process is using it as such. I know that I genuinely want to help people and provide for myself and my family by working as a social worker - what I am educated and trained to do. We are seeing so many mental health cases on the news. Imagine a world where social workers like myself are able to give a positive word to someone before they are at their edge, or to make a referral so that someone can get the medication they need, or make a report of abuse or assess a threat on the community by a mentally unstable person. 

I'm into the thousands paying for testing and exam prep. I'm into the hundreds of thousands with student loans. 

I am not the EXAM. 

I AM A PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORKER WITH EXPERIENCE AND COMPASSION. 

I AM A PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST/CLINICIAN,  SOCIAL WORKER THAT DESERVES TO ADVANCE IN MY CAREER WITHOUT A EXAM THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY GROWTH AS A PROFESSIONAL HOLDING ME BACK!