Free Bachelors exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Bachelors exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A social worker at a family services agency is legally required to disclose information a client shared in session. Under the NASW Code of Ethics standard on commitment to clients, what does the Code direct the social worker to do in addition to meeting that legal obligation?

   1. A. Advise the client that responsibility to the larger society or specific legal obligations may on limited occasions supersede the loyalty owed to the client
   2. B. Document in the client's file both the client's request for access and the rationale for withholding some or all of the record from that client
   3. C. Seek agreement among all the parties involved about each individual's obligation to preserve the confidentiality of information shared by others
   4. D. Obtain the client's written authorization before any confidential information about that client is disclosed to a third-party payer for payment

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Standard 1.01, Commitment to Clients, states: "Social workers' primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients. In general, clients' interests are primary. However, social workers' responsibility to the larger society or specific legal obligations may, on limited occasions, supersede the loyalty owed clients, and clients should be so advised." The Code attaches an advisement duty to that situation, which is what option A states. Option B restates standard 1.08(a), which governs limiting a client's access to the client's own record. Option C restates standard 1.07(f), which governs confidentiality agreements in family, couples, and group counseling. Option D restates standard 1.07(h), which governs disclosures to third-party payers. Each is a real requirement of the Code, but none is what standard 1.01 directs when a legal obligation supersedes loyalty to the client.

   Reference: Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to Clients — NASW Code of Ethics (2021), Ethical Standards, 1.01 Commitment to Clients; 1.07(f), 1.07(h), 1.08(a)

2. 2A social worker is organizing an assessment around the social determinants of health framework used in Healthy People 2030. Into which five domains does that framework group the social determinants of health?

   1. A. Economic stability; education access and quality; health care access and quality; neighborhood and built environment; and social and community context
   2. B. Household income; employment status; housing conditions; transportation access; and the food security of the surrounding local community
   3. C. Biological factors; psychological factors; social factors; cultural factors; and the spiritual factors that affect the individual client
   4. D. Individual behavior; family functioning; community capacity; the policy environment; and the performance of the local health care system

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Healthy People 2030 states that social determinants of health "are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks" and that "SDOH can be grouped into 5 domains," which it lists as Economic Stability, Education Access and Quality, Health Care Access and Quality, Neighborhood and Built Environment, and Social and Community Context. Option B lists specific conditions that fall within those domains rather than the domains themselves. Option C names the components of a biopsychosocial framework, and option D names levels of an ecological model; neither is the five-domain grouping this framework uses.

   Reference: Social Determinants of Health - Healthy People 2030 | odphp.health.gov — Healthy People 2030, Social Determinants of Health, 'What are social determinants of health?'

3. 3Which professional roles must be represented on a hospice interdisciplinary group under the Medicare conditions of participation?

   1. A. A doctor of medicine or osteopathy, a registered nurse, a social worker or marriage and family therapist or mental health counselor, and a pastoral or other counselor
   2. B. A doctor of medicine or osteopathy, a registered nurse, a licensed physical therapist, and a home health aide who is employed by or under contract with the hospice
   3. C. A registered nurse, a social worker or marriage and family therapist, a licensed pharmacist, and a certified nursing assistant employed by or under contract with the hospice
   4. D. A doctor of medicine or osteopathy, a nurse practitioner, a social worker, and a bereavement coordinator who is employed by or under contract with the hospice

   Answer: A

   Explanation: 42 CFR 418.56(a)(1) requires that "The interdisciplinary group must include, but is not limited to, individuals who are qualified and competent to practice in the following professional roles: (i) A doctor of medicine or osteopathy (who is an employee or under contract with the hospice). (ii) A registered nurse. (iii) A social worker, marriage and family therapist, or a mental health counselor. (iv) A pastoral or other counselor." Options B, C, and D each replace one or more of those four required roles with other disciplines that hospices commonly employ but that the regulation does not list as required members of the group.

   Reference: Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42 — 42 CFR 418.56(a)(1), Standard: Approach to service delivery

4. 4A social worker has direct knowledge that a social work colleague's substance use is interfering with the colleague's practice effectiveness. Under the NASW Code of Ethics, what is the social worker's first responsibility?

   1. A. Consult with the colleague when feasible and assist the colleague in taking remedial action
   2. B. File a complaint about the colleague with the licensing and regulatory body in the jurisdiction
   3. C. Report the colleague's conduct to the NASW National Ethics Committee for professional review
   4. D. Raise the matter through the employing agency's established channels for concerns about colleagues

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Standard 2.08(a) provides: "Social workers who have direct knowledge of a social work colleague's impairment that is due to personal problems, psychosocial distress, substance abuse, or mental health difficulties and that interferes with practice effectiveness should consult with that colleague when feasible and assist the colleague in taking remedial action." Options B, C, and D name channels the Code does recognize, but standard 2.08(b) makes them the step for social workers who believe "the colleague has not taken adequate steps to address the impairment." At the point described in the item, that condition has not been reached, so consultation with the colleague comes first.

   Reference: Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues — NASW Code of Ethics (2021), Ethical Standards, 2.08 Impairment of Colleagues, paragraphs (a) and (b)

5. 5A social worker must explain the difference between the HHS poverty guidelines and the Census Bureau poverty thresholds. According to the annual Federal Register notice, how do the two differ in purpose?

   1. A. The guidelines are a simplified version of the thresholds and are used by Medicaid and other federal programs as a criterion for eligibility determinations, while the thresholds are used to prepare estimates of the number of people in poverty
   2. B. The guidelines are calculated from the state-level cost of living data that is collected each year by the Department, while the thresholds are calculated from the national consumer price data covering that very same period
   3. C. The guidelines apply only to those families that include children who are under the age of eighteen years, while the thresholds apply to every household that is counted by the Census Bureau in its annual national survey
   4. D. The guidelines are updated once every five years following each decennial census of the national population, while the thresholds are updated on an annual basis by the Census Bureau using the current consumer price data

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The 2026 notice states: "The poverty guidelines are used by Medicaid and a number of other Federal programs as a criterion for some or all eligibility determinations. The poverty guidelines issued here are a simplified version of the poverty thresholds that the Census Bureau uses to prepare its estimates of the number of individuals and families in poverty." Option B misstates the method; the same notice explains that the update is accomplished by increasing the Census thresholds by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. Option C invents a family-composition limit. Option D misstates the schedule, since HHS is required to update the guidelines at least annually.

   Reference: Federal Register :: Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines — Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines, 91 FR (Jan. 15, 2026), Supplementary Information

6. 6Which of the profession's ethical principles expresses the NASW Code of Ethics view of relationships between and among people?

   1. A. Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships and engage people as partners in the helping process
   2. B. Social workers maintain a neutral professional distance so that the client's own resources remain the source of change
   3. C. Social workers form relationships that come to an end once a service plan has been agreed upon and its implementation has begun
   4. D. Social workers treat relationships as a byproduct of service delivery rather than as a means of bringing about change for clients

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Under "Value: Importance of Human Relationships," the Code states the ethical principle as "Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships," and elaborates: "Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process." Options B, C, and D each reduce the relationship to distance, to a phase, or to a byproduct, when the Code identifies it as a vehicle for change and a partnership.

   Reference: Code of Ethics: English — NASW Code of Ethics (2021), Ethical Principles, Value: Importance of Human Relationships

7. 7A social worker learns that a person with no social work education or credential is advertising counseling services in the community under the title of social worker. Under the NASW Code of Ethics standard on integrity of the profession, what responsibility does the social worker have?

   1. A. Act to prevent the unauthorized and unqualified practice of social work in the community
   2. B. Contribute time and professional expertise to activities promoting respect for the profession
   3. C. Facilitate informed participation by the public in shaping social policies and institutions
   4. D. Represent accurately and fairly the qualifications, views, and obligations of colleagues

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Standard 5.01(e) states: "Social workers should act to prevent the unauthorized and unqualified practice of social work." That standard directly controls the situation described. Option B is standard 5.01(c), option C is standard 6.02, and option D is standard 2.01(a); all are genuine obligations under the Code, but none addresses a person practicing social work without authorization or qualification.

   Reference: Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to the Social Work Profession — NASW Code of Ethics (2021), Ethical Standards, 5.01 Integrity of the Profession, paragraphs (c) and (e)

8. 8A social worker is screening for adverse childhood experiences using the definition published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What age range does that definition cover?

   1. A. Potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood, ages 0 to 17
   2. B. Potentially traumatic events occurring before school entry, ages 0 to 5
   3. C. Potentially traumatic events occurring in the school years, ages 5 to 18
   4. D. Potentially traumatic events occurring before adulthood, ages 0 to 25

   Answer: A

   Explanation: CDC states: "Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years)." The examples given include experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home or community; and having a family member attempt or die by suicide. The other options set boundaries that would exclude part of the period the definition covers or extend it past the upper bound CDC states.

   Reference: About Adverse Childhood Experiences | Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) | CDC — CDC, About Adverse Childhood Experiences, 'What are adverse childhood experiences?'

9. 9How is the working alliance between counselor and client described in motivational interviewing, as set out in SAMHSA's protocol on enhancing motivation for change?

   1. A. As a collaborative partnership to which each party brings important expertise
   2. B. As a relationship in which the counselor's expertise directs the course of work
   3. C. As a relationship that becomes collaborative after the client commits to change
   4. D. As a relationship whose quality has little effect on substance use outcomes

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The TIP lists among the assumptions of motivational interviewing: "Your alliance with the client is a collaborative partnership to which you each bring important expertise" and "An empathic, supportive counseling style provides conditions under which change can occur." Option B makes the counselor's expertise directive, which conflicts with the collaborative premise. Option C defers collaboration to a later stage, and option D denies the relationship's effect, which the same chapter's emphasis on alliance contradicts.

   Reference: Bookshelf — SAMHSA TIP 35, Enhancing Motivation for Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Chapter 3, 'Introduction to MI'

10. 10A social worker serving on an interdisciplinary treatment team disagrees with a team decision on ethical grounds, and raising the concern through the team's usual channels has not resolved it. Under the NASW Code of Ethics, what should the social worker do next?

    1. A. Pursue other avenues to address the concern in a manner consistent with client well-being
    2. B. Document the dissent in the client's record and implement the team's decision as written
    3. C. Withdraw from the team so that the disagreement does not compromise the team's functioning
    4. D. Defer to the judgment of the team member whose discipline holds primary clinical authority

    Answer: A

    Explanation: Standard 2.03(b) states: "Social workers for whom a team decision raises ethical concerns should attempt to resolve the disagreement through appropriate channels. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, social workers should pursue other avenues to address their concerns consistent with client well-being." The Code therefore does not treat exhaustion of team channels as the end of the social worker's obligation. Options B, C, and D each treat the unresolved team decision as final, which the standard expressly does not; standard 2.03(a) also requires social workers to "participate in and contribute to decisions that affect the well-being of clients by drawing on the perspectives, values, and experiences of the social work profession."

    Reference: Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues — NASW Code of Ethics (2021), Ethical Standards, 2.03 Interdisciplinary Collaboration, paragraphs (a) and (b)