Do Bilingual Social Workers Experience More Difficulty Passing the Licensing Exam?

Background:  This study explored whether or not bilingual social workers in New York City had an equivalent passing rate to monolingual social workers on the ASWB licensing exams (Masters and Clinical). Evidence suggests that clients have better treatment adherence and outcomes when provided services in their respective languages. However, while the number of persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) has increased over the past few decades, there remains a paucity of licensed bilingual social workers.

Methods:  Data were collected through an internet survey via an email invitation. The sample consisted of social workers (N = 223) who were members of the National Association of Social Workers - New York City Chapter and included monolingual (English) and self-identified bilingual social workers. The majority of participants were female (bilingual, 83.5%; monolingual, 84.3%) whose highest degree was the MSW (bilingual, 86.5%; monolingual, 89.8%).

Within the bilingual group, most respondents were Hispanic or Latino (41%) with White as the second highest category (30.6%) and Asian as the third (15.7%). The mean age was 41.44 and their average years of practice was 9.37. Spanish was the most spoken language (57%) in the bilingual group followed by Asian languages (16%). Fifty-four percent of bilinguals were second-generation immigrants, while 32.1% were first-generation.

For the monolingual group, the majority of respondents were White (75.3%) with Black or African Descent as the second highest category (12.4%). The mean age was slightly higher at 45.81 and they had slightly more years of experience at 13.9. Only 20.2% of monolinguals were second-generation immigrants, with 5.6% identifying as first-generation. 

Results:  Monolinguals were more likely to be licensed than bilinguals. While 76.9% of bilinguals were licensed, 23.1% were not compared to 89.9% of monolinguals licensed and 10.1% not licensed. Monolinguals (95%) were also more likely to pass the licensing exam on the first try versus 85.4% of bilinguals. Bilinguals who eventually passed the licensing exam reported that they took the exam once or twice before passing. One participant reported taking the exam up to four times before passing. Only one monolingual reported that they had taken the exam twice before passing. There were 15 bilingual social workers who reported not being licensed due to failing the exam.

Implications: These findings indicate that monolingual participants are more likely to hold social work licensure and are more likely to pass the licensure exam on the first try when compared to bilinguals. This suggests the need to collect more data regarding the pass rates for culturally and linguistically diverse social workers and further explore reasons why bilingual social workers might experience more difficulty than monolingual social workers in passing the exam. Given that the social work profession has made an ethical commitment to providing culturally and linguistically competent services, and literature supports that clients fare better when provided services in the language of their choice, this disparity should be addressed.