Here’s an article I wrote to help LET-takers make better decisions on the things they could do to prepare for the September 2010 LET. It was edited by Ms. Alice Roselo and was later published in MindGym Philippine‘s site. I am posting it here to help others who are taking the exam soon.

Go to the Dentist and Top the LET

by JeDCee
September 3, 2010

*Image credited to Corbis Images

It is barely three weeks before the Philippine Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), yet I am still far from attaining 80% mastery of the teacher education courses. I’ve learned several mistakes. I should have done certain actions that efficiently bring out success in the actual board exam.

I learned that a goal’s success is a matter of personal discipline and is largely determined by how you answer the following questions:

What exactly do you want?

Why do you want it?

How do you get what you want?

What do you need to get what you want?

After you answer these questions, it’s gonna be easier for you to start your preparation. While I was trying to get ready for the LET, I realized that there are things we do that help very little in achieving our goals. I am going to share with you some of these insights. You might have experienced or might be experiencing the same predicaments so it’ll be helpful if you read throughout.

Prepare early

Start reviewing immediately after you decide to top the LET. While still in college, some of us dream of becoming a licensure exam topnotcher yet, most of us start preparing only a month or two before the actual exam. Manny Pacquiao spent so much time training before a boxing match. He did not allow other issues to distract his attention from his preparation. Pacman’s physical discipline is no different from the mental discipline we need to top the LET. Discipline teaches us to become bold and resolute when it comes to our decisions.

Allocate your time and follow through

Successful projects go through a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. When we review for LET, we have to sacrifice some time and resources. We cannot spend all our resources in one activity without giving up another. So allocate your time. Write down your plan. By this, I don’t mean that you allot all of your time reviewing. You’ll get bored. You’ll become restless. Can you afford to sacrifice your happiness with the pride of being a LET topnotcher? Yes, you can still hang out with your friends, watch movies, play video games but study as planned. One topic a day means 30 topics a month or 60 after two months.

Get relevant review materials or choose a high performing LET review center

Do not spend so much time browsing the net for LET materials. You may try the eduphil forum or check Jaylord Losabia’s blog for good printable and downloadable LET drills. Most sites have bugs and unfriendly processes. Chances are you get to pay an internet café for 12 hours, which is almost the cost of a commercial LET review book. I realized that the most relevant materials though are those that come from old PRC LETs. If you have funds for a full blown LET review which runs for around 16 full days, go for a LET review center which has a high passing rate or better yet, a roster of LET topnotchers.

Take more drills and less readings or lectures

If a multiple choice test is constructed to measure higher-order thinking skills, an item would ask you to comprehend a stem (or question) then analyze the options given to arrive at the best answer. For a clever test-taker, this would mean preparing with more practice tests rather than readings and lectures. The LET is most likely a test of how you correctly answer a multiple choice test. Analyzing an item matters more than remembering what you read or what you heard from lectures. Unfortunately, many of us do our review by reading whole chapters of textbooks.

Surround yourself with LET passers and topnotchers

They can give the right advice, particularly in terms of the pertinence of your materials and the effectiveness of your study habits. They can even tell you some incongruities between the table of specifications and the actual exam. Trust them; they experienced LET themselves. They can also coach well because they—specifically the topnotchers—have mastered the science of picking the key out of several distracters.

Go to the dentist

Huh? What’s the connection between taking the LET and going to the dentist? Imagine taking a major exam while a cavity, gum disease, or cracked tooth freaks you out. See? What I am speaking here is about the minor irritations that might affect your performance in the actual exam—the small stuffs that make you sweat so much. Remember that major major thing that might have blocked Venus Raj’s thinking when asked the question of her life? So, go to the dentist; have enough sleep; know the location of the testing site; bring food, water and an extra pen; and make sure you are sound, worry-free, and relaxed before you take the LET.

Any other suggestions on how to top the LET? Share them with us in the comments!

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This is the 6th article in TtL’s Top the LET! Series. Watch out for our next article!

You may also click for a printable PDF version of this article.

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