Effect of Race/Ethnicity on the 2018–2022 Social Work Clinical License Exam Outcomes

Purpose: We examined the effect of race and ethnicity on first-time passage of the ASWB Clinical exam using a person-in-environment conceptual framework. Method: We conducted descriptive and regression analyses using the 2018–2022 Clinical exam data ( N = 88,678), merged with zip code-level income data from the US Census Bureau and institutional characteristics data from the US Department of Education. Results: Results indicated that if examinees from minoritized groups had individual, institutional, and community characteristics similar to those of White examinees, the Black-White disparity in exam pass rates could decline by approximately 20%, and the Hispanic-White disparity by around 27%. With 58% of Black examinees interacting with lowest-income areas, their outcomes were influenced more by socioeconomic status. However, Hispanic examinees’ outcomes were affected more by their educational backgrounds. Conclusion: Findings call for further research that explores the crucial determinants of exam outcomes not included in this study due to data constraints.