What are the differences between the LMSW and LCSW exams?

When you're getting licensed, you're not just taking the ASWB exam. You're taking one of several levels of ASWB exam: Bachelors, Masters, Advanced Generalist, and Clinical.

Not all states ask social workers to work their way through all levels. And different states give different designations for passing different exam levels. The most common for the Masters exam is LMSW; for the Clinical exam, it's LCSW.

Regardless of which exam you're preparing for, it's worth asking, how is this exam different from the others. Since there are more people taking the Masters and Clinical exams, for this post, let's answer this question: What's the difference between the LMSW and LCSW exam?

Short answer: really not that much.

Both have 170 questions (with 20 uncounted--they're tester questions which will be used in future editions of the exam, if they pass muster). Both take four hours. Both are comprised primarily of vignette questions including close-call situations that everyday social workers face. Though the Clinical exam comes after the Masters exam in some states, they're both designed to assess for knowledge, skills, and abilities that might be expected in a beginning social worker. 

Digging deeper, let's look at the exam outlines for each and compare.

The Masters exam is broken down this way:

• HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DIVERSITY, AND BEHAVIOR IN THE ENVIRONMENT (27%)
• ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION PLANNING (24%)
• INTERVENTIONS WITH CLIENTS/CLIENT SYSTEMS (24%)
• PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS, VALUES, AND ETHICS (25%)

The Clinical exam breakdown is this:

• HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DIVERSITY, AND BEHAVIOR IN THE ENVIRONMENT (24%)
• ASSESSMENT, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT PLANNING (30%)
• PSYCHOTHERAPY, CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS, AND CASE MANAGEMENT (27%)
• PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND ETHICS (19%)

What do you notice? The Masters exam has 3% more items from the first category. That's about five questions. The Clinical exam adds "Diagnosis" to the second grouping and adds 6% (ten questions). The third group gets a name tweak and a 3% difference. The last category--the one based primarily on the NASW Code of Ethics--is weighted more heavily on the Masters than on the Clinical.

So, out of 170 questions, the biggest swing you'll see one way or another is 10 questions in any given category. Over the course of four hours, that's a difference that will be pretty hard to detect. The Clinical exam will have more questions about diagnosis, but don't count on being spared diagnostic questions on the Masters exam. One of the areas in the Masters content outline is "the use of the DSM."

So, as you're preparing for the Masters, don't shy away from LCSW materials, and vice versa. The vast majority of content is similar or the same. And the test-taking process is exactly the same--narrowing down from four choices to the three best, the two best, the one best answer.

Once you've done that 170 times and gotten around 70-75% of them right, you've passed. You're licensed. And you don't have to worry about this distinction any more (or at least for a while). Congratulations in advance!

How to Pass the LMSW Exam

How do you pass the LMSW exam? Here's one, good, thorough answer from Nicole Clark on her blog. The post is called, fittingly enough, "Ask Nicole: How Did You Pass the LMSW Exam on Your First Try?" Here are the bullet points--do's and don'ts--which echo much of what we've been saying here. Our quick reaction/summary follows each:

• Do know the NASW Code of Ethics (yes!)
• Do take practice exams (she likes SWTP)
• Do figure out how you like to retain information (she used a brainwave app)
• Do take study breaks (research says so)
• Do a trial run (if you've got the time and some anxiety to burn off, can help)
• Do find ways to relieve stress (please do!)
• Do know your acronyms (she means FAREAFI and AASPIRINS--sometimes helpful, sometimes not)
• Don’t tell (many) people you’re taking the exam (good idea to reduce felt pressure)
• Don’t pull out your class books (depends upon the class books, though, doesn't it? what about a textbooky textbook like Hepworth, Rooney, and Larson?)
• Don’t answer exam questions based on what you’d do at your agency (yes! be the ideal, in-a-vacuum, textbook social worker)

All of the above applies to the LCSW exam and other ASWB exams, of course. More details within the post. Have at it!

Q&A: How many questions on the social work exam? What score do I need to pass?

Some questions pop up from time to time in email and as search terms that show up in site stats. Here are a couple of regulars:

Q: How many questions are there on the social work exam?

A: Two answers: 170 or 200. It's 170 for all ASWB administered exams, 200 for the standard written exam administered by the California BBS. Which is you? If you're in California, 200. Everywhere else, 170. You know who you are.

Note: Not all of the exam questions account toward your score. Some are testers (20 on the ASWB, --their usefulness is being gauged before they're made real questions on some future exam. There's no way to know which questions are testers, so you may as well treat them all as real. That said, keeping in mind that some questions are testers can help you maintain calm and composure if you hit a few questions that makes no sense or seem way too hard or that you just don't know. Just shrug it off--"Must be a tester"--make your best guess and move on.

Q: What score do I need to pass the social work exam?

A: Depends upon the state. States set their own pass rates--check with your state board to get a precise number if you want it.  Passing percentages tend to land in the 70-75% range. So, for a state with a 72% requirement, that's 122 out of 170 or 108 out of 150 (excluding testers). For those preparing with online practice exams (a good idea), a good guideline is to aim for percentages coming in at high 70s/low 80s before going to sit for the real thing.

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Have a social work licensing exam question you don't see answered on the site? Write us and we'll do our best to get it answered (find our gmail on the sidebar).

Pass the Social Work Licensing Exam (Slides)

Pass the Social Work Licensing Exam, a slideshow:

Pass the Social Work Licensing Exam from socialworkexamhelp

LMSW Exam Sample Questions

Removed at the request of the ASWB.  Find sample questions at socialworktestprep.com/free-practice-test and in the ASWB Candidate Handbook, available at aswb.org.

Pass the LMSW Exam

Licensed Master Social Workers of the future, take heart. The LMSW exam is passable. It has been passed or will be passed by somebody within hours of your reading this. Thousands of people pass the LMSW exam each year. You're next!

Just because it's doable, doesn't mean it won't take some work to do.  Get help where you can.  Keep your study prep focused.  Here are some useful links for easing your way to your LMSW on the web:

• From Social Work Test Prep
• From Social Work Career Development
• From Aunt Bertha
• From Quizlet

Good luck!

LMSW Exam Help

From the blogs linked on the sidebar, maybe not inviting clicks because of its title, the in-fact helpful Social Work Career Development blog (dorleem.com).  Some exam prep-relevant posts there:

10 LMSW Exam Practice Questions
Secrets for Passing the LMSW Exam
8 Steps to Obtaining Your LMSW
The Two Acronyms You Must Know for the LMSW Exam

Have at 'em.