ASWB Bachelors Passing Score: What 66 to 78 Correct Means and What Your Report Shows

If you have searched for "the" ASWB Bachelors passing score, you have probably found several different numbers. That's because ASWB doesn't set one. Its scoring page says that, because each exam has multiple forms, "there is no single correct number of questions that must be answered correctly to pass." What ASWB does publish is a general range: the passing score "generally ranges from 66 to 78 correct answers out of 110 scored questions."

The ASWB Bachelors passing range in numbers

Only the 110 scored questions count. The 12 pretest questions on each 122-question exam don't affect your result. Here is the published range as percentages and as questions you can miss, worked out by Passy:

Two cautions. First, the range is stated on ASWB's scoring page for the licensing exams in general, not separately for the Bachelors category. Second, the middle row is just a midpoint for illustration. Your own form's number could be anywhere the statistics put it, and you'll only see it on your score report. A rule of thumb such as "you need 70%" picks one point near the top of the range and treats it as the standard. A more useful target is steady accuracy in each content area, and the planned ASWB Bachelors question counts for each content area show how full prep would split that practice.

Why your exam form sets the number

ASWB keeps several versions of each exam in use at once, called forms, mainly for security: someone who retakes the exam usually gets a different form. Questions differ slightly in difficulty, so the guidebook says ASWB makes statistical adjustments that raise or lower the number of correct answers needed on each form. The goal, in ASWB's words, is that "no candidate receives an advantage or disadvantage based on the exam form administered."

An illustration (two imaginary forms): Form 1 happens to include a few harder questions, so it needs 68 correct to pass. Form 2 is slightly easier, so it needs 72. A candidate with 70 correct on Form 1 passes, while the same 70 on Form 2 doesn't. Both candidates were measured against the same standard of competence. The number on the page just moved to keep the standard still.

That standard is set for each category. ASWB says "the passing standard for each exam category reflects the level of competence an entry level social worker must demonstrate at that practice category," and that all jurisdictions using the exams recognize the same passing standard. For the 2026 exams, ASWB convened a standard-setting workshop with a separate Bachelors panel of 13 social workers from the United States and Canada, facilitated by psychometricians.

Because there's no number to aim at in advance, the useful target is broad competence across all three content areas. You can practice with an explanation for every answer when full prep opens at launch, and the free 20 ASWB Bachelors practice questions work today. Neither predicts a pass.

Associate candidates: same questions, possibly a different cut

The Associate exam uses the same questions as the Bachelors exam. But since each category has its own passing standard, don't assume the two share a cut score. ASWB's practice-test page points the same way: Associate registrants may buy the Bachelors practice test, but "the passing score for the Bachelors practice test will be applied." ASWB doesn't publish a separate Associate range on the pages checked for this guide, and your score report will show the number that applied to you.

What you see after the exam, and when

ASWB, Pearson and your board can't change a score. ASWB also runs statistical checks on results, and if there's any sign of an irregularity, an official score report may be delayed while it's reviewed.

What happens after a pass depends on where you applied. ASWB's "When you pass the exam" page says that in most cases the board contacts you. It lists exceptions, including candidates in Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Texas and Utah, who must complete a license application with the board after passing. Kentucky candidates upload a copy of the unofficial score report and pay the license fee online, and New Jersey and West Virginia candidates are pointed to their boards' websites. Check your board's next step the day you pass.

Using an ASWB Bachelors pass in another state

The guidebook says a passing or failing score is valid in all states and provinces "for the same examination category." Two consequences:

• Moving with a Bachelors pass works only where the Bachelors exam is used. You apply to the new board, then request a score transfer in ASWBCentral for US$40 per transfer, which ASWB says it sends within 7 to 10 business days. Which states use the ASWB Bachelors exam shows where candidates tested in 2025.
• A Bachelors pass doesn't count as a Masters pass. If you later earn an MSW and apply for a master's-level license, you take whichever exam that board approves you for, such as the Masters exam.

If your ASWB Bachelors report says you didn't pass

The content-area counts on a failing report are the most useful information you'll get, because ASWB doesn't let candidates review the exam. Your next attempt generally has to be at least 90 days after the last one, unless ASWB grants a waiver, which requires a board that allows waivers and a score within 10 correct answers of passing. Failed the ASWB Bachelors exam? covers the timeline and how to turn those counts into a plan.

If you are still preparing, track accuracy by content area with the Weak Spot feature planned for launch, or use the free ASWB Bachelors study planner to spread your time across all three areas. The result is a single total, and each area is roughly a third of the scored questions, so a skipped area is hard to make up elsewhere.