Why the GRE is Valuable for Social Workers

By S. Jolene Hui, LCSW, NASW-CA Membership Coordinator

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not a prerequisite for most graduate level social work programs and it seems the last few standing are dropping the requirement.

Although this is not the most popular opinion, and most people will shake their heads in disapproval when I say this, I think that the GRE is actually a valuable thing for those entering graduate social work programs. Many disagree with me and say that standardized tests cannot gauge how well someone will do in an MSW program and that they should not be a requirement to enroll. I agree…mostly.

While the GREs don’t always gauge how someone will perform in a program, and, in many ways, don’t have anything to do with our field in general, they do require the test taker to prepare and to use a level of thought that we don’t always use—but perhaps we should be using. There’s nothing wrong with a little brain flexing now and again. We should not discredit the information taught on the GRE. We are doing ourselves a disservice for saying there’s no point in taking the exam.

Our profession should be taken just as seriously as any other profession, and graduate entrance exams are typically a regular part of that application process—whether it is in law, public health, business, etc. It’s now being accepted instead of GMAT for business school, and more people take the GRE than all of the other graduate school entrance exams combined.

Social work was not always in the academic realm. The profession started with “friendly visitors” helping those in need in the comfort of their homes. Volunteers who wanted to help others out of the goodness of their hearts but had no formal training and received no compensation for their efforts.

As with most professions, social work did not become a legitimate profession until it was brought into the academic world. The first social work class was at Columbia University in 1898. Licensure was another step in the right direction. Yet, even though our profession has a rich history, we are in a constant struggle for legitimacy. We continue to fight for title protection here in California. And there are many who don’t understand that social work is an actual profession—not just an arbitrary job title for someone who works in social services.

The GRE has been around since 1949. Throughout the years, changes have been made, with the most recent changes in 2011. According to the Kaplan website, 675,000 “aspiring graduate and business school students” take the exam every year. Not only is it used as a factor in determining admission it is sometimes used in determining merit-based financial aid, and research and teaching assistantships (also according to Kaplan’s website).

Currently, the test is comprised of three sections: verbal, quantitative and analytical. Scores range from 130-170 in the first two sections while the analytical writing section is scored 0-6. According to Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organization that administers the exam, of graduate students going into the social work field, the majority score in the 145-149 range for the verbal section. In the quantitative, the majority score in the 140-144 range followed closely by the 145-149 range. In the analytical writing section, nearly half score in the 3.5 & 4 range.

Social work students test scores are comparable and sometimes even better than other graduate students. I do believe that the cost of the exam, at $160, is a bit steep and that this cost, along with study materials for the exam, can cause a financial burden to the applicant. But that aside, I think that studying for and taking the exam to gain entrance to MSW programs is not only a smart idea, it’s an appropriate one.

Jolene Hui, LCSW, is NASW-CA’s membership coordinator and can be reached at jhui@naswca.org.