CALIFORNIA SOCIAL
WORKERS
YOUR SOCIAL WORK
CAREER IS IN JEOPARDY!!
Issues NASW
has addressed with the BBSE regarding the oral over the past 6 years and the BBSEs
responses:
In an article written by Risa Foster in the
NASW CA News October 1994 edition NASW made the following statements and requests:
- "NASW continues to be very concerned about the low pass rate
on the oral examination. The May, 1994 oral exam had a pass rate of only 34.5 percent. In
May of this year, NASW wrote a letter to the BBSE suggesting an open forum to discuss the
current exam."
- "We asked in particular that changes be made such that
all candidates can know what constitutes adequate answers to oral examination questions.
Further more, when people fail the exam, they should also receive detailed information
about why they were failed."
In another article written by Risa Foster in the NASW CA News
April 1995 edition the following issues were raised:
- "hold the exam in other than hotel rooms and increase the
time to review the contents of the vignettes from 5 minutes to 10 minutes."
- "77.1 percent of respondents believed they passed the exam after
exiting; 22.9 percent felt they failed; the actual pass rate was 37.3 percent which means there
is an enormous disparity between the candidates perceptions of their success and the
reality. During the meeting the board seemed somewhat more reluctant to look
further at the issue of the low pass rate for this exam."
- "The board did seem interested in "having a
psychometrist from the American Association of State Social Work Boards look at the oral
exam and give them his input".
What progress has NASW made over the past six years in getting
the BBSE to "fix" the oral exam? Here are the results of six years of hard work
by NASW and "cooperation" from the BBSE:
- The exam continues to be held in hotel rooms. However, this
picture is brighter than it first appears because an examinee no longer has to sit on the
bed during the oral examination, they are now able to sit at a small table in a hotel room
just a few feet away from a bed while they are "examined" by two other
"social workers".
- Applicants have been allowed a full two minutes more to review their
vignette ( I am sure this will make all the difference in the world).
- The pass rate for the oral remains the same and examinees remain
baffled by their inability to pass this exam.
A psychometrist from the AASSWB NEVER reviewed the oral
examination .
- Requests for an open and closed forum to review the exam were refused
by the BBSE.
- The oral exam continues to be a SUBJECTIVE exam without any
"correct" answers. To date when applicants fail the exam they still do
not receive any individualized information about why they failed. Applicants receive one
single numerical score for each content area. The numerical score will correspond with a
table that consists of generic standard responses regarding whether or not the response is
determined to be deficient. Neither the numerical score nor the table will provide
applicants with any individualized information about why their response was determined
deficient or which of the different associated knowledges was not covered sufficiently.
Quotes regarding
the oral examination from The SanFrancisco Examiner article "Therapist Orals:
Fairness debated"
Jane Totman, LCSW and former oral examiner "I
was disgusted with the process...It is not possible to give a fair exam."
Teresa DeCresenzo, LCSW and former oral examiner and chair of the
board She describes the oral as a "fatally flawed personality
contest."
"As for the exams relationship to actual psychotherapy,
critics said experience and deliberation were essential to sound treatment, while
the instant analyses and snap judgments required on the oral could lead to malpractice in
a real clinical setting."
Evelyn Brown, director of three separate psychotherapy boards in the
Virginia Department of Health Professions In reference to VAs abolishment of
the oral exam requirement for social work licensure in 1992 she reported, "Our
disciplinary caseload has stayed pretty much the same."
Members of the Assembly Consumer Protection Committee
Talking
Points with Legislators
NASW-CA's
Information: Fact or Fiction?
Discussion of MFCC comparison and oral exam flaws
Members of the
Assembly Health Committee
Get Involved with "The Network"
Actual Bill Text
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