ALFRED MARKT.

AGUILOR, LPT, MACDDS

7th Placer, LET September 2012
 Table of Contents

03 Introduction

04 Principle No. 1: Understand and accept the

brutal fact

06 Principle No. 2: Apply the Pareto Principle

09 Principle No. 3: Focus on the “Why”

12 Principle No. 4: Master the “Art of Test-Taking”

15 Principle 5: Begin with an End in Mind

16 Principle 6: Develop the Topnotcher Mindset”

18 Principle 7: Find and Journey with the

Right People

20 BONUSES

21 About the Author

To the aspiring professional teacher reading this,
you are a topnotcher in the making!
 Introduction

If you are an education graduate or a professional education unit earner, chances

are you are thinking whether you could pass the licensure examination for
teachers or not . This is a common mindset since it is not really the college
diploma that is the ultimate measure of being a professional teacher, but the
teaching license which is earned after conquering the board examination.

Although the goal is to simply meet the bare minimum requirement which is
to pass the board examination and get the license, some aspiring LPTs dream
of becoming topnotchers because of the prestige, glory and perhaps, the
financial reward that comes with it.

Here is the goodnews! I will be sharing with you the seven principles I learned in
my journey as a LET review mentor for several years. Take note that you do not
need to be a latin awardee or a college dean’s lister for you to be a topnotcher. I
know some people who are average students during their college years but
excelled the board examination outranking the vast majority of their peers.

So let us begin.

PS.: If you finish reading this till the end, I will give you two bonuses!

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 Principle No. 1: Understand and accept the brutal fact

“Everyone knows that LET is not easy, but only few people understand that
majority of LET takers fail the exam.”

Let us take a look at the available data in the official website of the
Professional Regulation Commission (https://www.prc.gov.ph).

From 2008-2019, for both the Elementary and Secondary level, the total
number of registered LET examinees is 2,723,718 (I did the gargantuan job of
manually tallying and consolidating the numbers. You can check it yourself).
Out of this number, only 862,223 examinee successfully passed the
examination. This means that the average national passing rate for the past 12
years is 31.66% only!

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 Did that number sink in? If not, think of it this way.
“On the average, for every ten (10) LET takers only three (3) persons
passed the LET.”
That is our present statistics and we cannot change these figures
overnight. The least thing we can do is to accept the brutal fact and do the
necessary preparation to make sure that we will not be one of the casualties.

Questions to ponder:

1. What is your greatest fear in taking the LET? How can you conquer it?
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2. What are the things you can do to improve your chance of passing the LET?
Are you doing them now?
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 Principle No. 2: Apply the Pareto Principle
“Eighty percent of the result is from 20% of your actions.”

Photocourtesy: https://www.webceo.com/blog/pareto-rule-in-seo-what-20-of-your-inputs-bring-80-of-outputs/

The Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, observed that 80% of the wealth of
Italy is owned only by 20% of its population. It is a bizarre phenomenon that is
evident in other aspects of life. Generally, the Pareto principle claims that 80% of
the result comes from 20% of the action.

How do we apply this to the board examination?

First, understand that roughly 80% of the questions you can answer during
the LET is from 20% of what you’ve studied. This means that majority of the
lessons you painstakingly learned, studied, and read will not come out in the actual
board! Though this may be an opinion but this is based on the experience of the
hundreds of people who took the exam whom I have interviewed.

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 However, please do not get me wrong by not reviewing your lessons. The
point is, do not overwhelm yourself with too much facts and memorization. You
do not have to study hard; you just need to study smart. Second, determine
and spend your most productive hours in preparing for the LET daily. By
applying the Pareto principle, we can infer that 80% of our productivity is
derived from 20% of our actions.

Let us do a little math here. Note that 20% of 24 hours is 4.8 hours. Thus,
for you to succeed in your goal to be a licensed professional and hopefully,
become a topnotcher, you need to allocate approximately 5 hours of your day in
preparing for the examination. We will call these five hours are your golden
hours.

What aspect of your day are you most receptive, energized, and at your
best self? Spend those hours in studying, taking tests and reading concept
notes. I know that this is easier said than done. This takes a lot discipline. This
may be difficult at first (especially if you are not used to studying and reading)
but eventually, this will become part of your daily routine. Remember that
consistency is the key!

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Questions to ponder:
1. Identify aspects in your daily routine which consumes your most of your time
but doesn’t substantially contribute to your long-term goals.
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2. What part of your day do you consider as your golden hours? Why do you think so?
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 Principle No. 3: Focus on the “Why”

“The average LET taker simply memorizes the answers to questions. A LET
topnotcher seeks to understand the rationale behind each question.”

The common mistake exam takers commit in preparing for the board
examination is that they focus only on knowing the answer to the question.
They focus too much on recall/memorization but less in understanding.
Remember that a single word in the question will change the answer.

Let us look at an example. Consider the following question:

Ms. DelaCruz developed a Summative Test in Reading for grade three pupils.
Before she finalized the test, she requested her head to determine if the test
items were created based on the topics that needs to be covered. What type of
validity was established?
A. Content Validity
B. Face Validity
C. Construct Validity
D. Predictive Criterion validity

The answer to this question is content validity since the question is about
the sampling of the topics.

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 Now, observe the next question.

Ms. DelaCruz developed a Summative Test in Reading for grade three pupils.
Before she finalized the test, she requested her head to determine if the test items
were created based on the latent behavior domain to be measured. What type of
validity was established?
A. Content Validity
B. Face Validity
C. Construct Validity
D. Predictive Criterion validity

The answer to this question is construct validity because behavior

domains are psychological constructs. You can see from those two examples
that if you simply “familiarized” yourself with the first question without
thoroughly understanding it, you might fall in to the trap of thinking that the
answer for the second question is still content validity.

The average LET taker simply memorizes the answers to questions. A

LET topnotcher seeks to understand the rationale behind each answer. He is
not contented with knowing what the answer is. Rather, he reads and does his
own research to justify the answer to the question.

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 Questions to ponder:
1. Why do you think it is important to understand the concept
behind the question?
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2. Provide you own example of a test item where changing one word
in the question will change the correct answer.
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 Principle No. 4: Master the “Art of Test-taking”
“Taking the LET is an art. It is the art of delving into the mind of the person
who constructed it.”

In the game of chess, both players see the same pieces on the same board;
however, their thought processes are totally different. Why is it that in most
cases, there is a winner and a loser? The answer is because the winner has a
better strategy compared to his opponent in a certain situation during the game
and this strategy is based on his previous experiences on the game.

The same is true in taking the board examination. The LET takers are
given same set of questions, but each examinee thinks differently when
answering the test. For some people, they simply recall the topics related to
the question while others resort to guessing and only a few uses a set of tools
to determine the best answer to the question even with limited knowledge on
the topic involved. This is not magic.

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 This tool is what we call test-taking strategies. This is what separates the
average passers from the topnotchers.

We can think of test-taking strategies as your ready-to-use tools

whenever you are confronted with certain types of questions. One common
strategy is called the “Elimination Technique” where one “eliminates”
irrelevant choices, hence the name. The average passer knows this, but a
topnotcher has a couple more at hand.

In my seven years of experience as a LET review mentor, I have compiled

and identified seven proven effective test-taking strategies and these are:
(1) Understanding the Big Words
(2) Developing Foresight
(3) The “Doppelgänger effect”
(4) Dealing with polar options
(5) Understanding umbrella questions
(6) Identifying the blacksheep
(7) Power of “Guesstimation”

Discussing each of the strategies above will take much time. So I will
reserve that if we will have time soon to meet virtually soon so I can discuss
each strategy in detail.

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 Questions to ponder:
1. Which among the seven strategies are you familiar with? Can you illustrate
how you apply the said strategy?
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2. Is taking a test an art? Why do you think so?

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 Principle 5: Begin with an End in Mind
“The topnotcher has a crystal clear vision of why he needs to get his license.”

As education students, we often hear the line: “Begin with an end in

mind.” This is what educational experts tell us when we make our lesson plans.
This means we need to visualize what will happen in the classroom in a given
instructional time frame. Plans ahead what knowledge, skills or values you
want your students to attain at the end of a certain lesson.

I believe that we can use the same principle in taking the licensure
examination. You need to determine the purpose of why you want to pass the
exam. It is through answering this question that you will find authentic motivation
which will later be translated into actions. When you have a clear vision or goal
in mind, you’ll have substantial reasons to continue preparing for the exam
despite any struggles which may arise in your journey.

Questions to ponder:
1. Complete the following statement: “Every time I feel tired or
demotivated, I will tell myself:
Pagod na ko, pero kailangan kong magpatuloy dahil ___________________.”

2. Why do you want to get your LPT license? What is your purpose?
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 Principle 6: Develop the “Topnotcher Mindset”
“Only a few people understand this simple secret: If you want to be a
topnotcher, think like one. Remember that LET topnotchers are made not
born.”

Contrary to the popular belief, you do not need to be a college achiever

to top the LET. Remember that the board exam is the greatest equalizer of all.
It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, or if you are a latin awardee, or a student
who barely passed his subjects. The topnotchers are made not born. You can
become a topnotcher regardless of your credentials! If you want to top the LET,
think like a topnotcher starting today.

You have to begin by asking yourself, what are the qualities of a topnotcher?
And from there, try to attain those qualities. If you think a topnotcher is
disciplined, then you have to develop self-discipline. If a topnotcher is purpose-
driven, then you need to have a clear goal in mind. If a topnotcher is intrinsically
motivated, then you need to discover the reasons why you are doing it out of will.

Way back in 2012, when I was still preparing for the September 2012 LET, I
have this simple mental exercise. I would often tell myself: “I will top the LET”. Then
I will continue by enumerating the qualities of a topnotcher. So I would then say,
“A topnotcher is purpose-driven, disciplined, an action taker, so on and so forth.”
This may be weird but I do it every single day! (But of course, I do not let
other people hear me saying those.). You can practice it today.

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 Stand in front of a mirror then utter positive affirmations to yourself or
you may also follow what I did enumerating the positive qualities of a
topnotcher. This mirror exercise has done wonders for many and it is actually
an advanced law of attraction technique being promoted by motivational
speakers or even experts all around the world.

Remember that being a topnotcher is not the result of you getting

extremely high board exam rating. Rather, it is the other way around. You
need to have a topnotcher’s mindset first, and your exceptional rating during
the actual LET will follow. The topnotcher’s medal you will receive during the
oath taking is just a formality because you know at the start of your journey,
you are already a topnotcher.

Question to ponder:
1. What are the qualities of a LET topnotcher?
Why do you consider these as such?
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2. After performing the “mirror activity” described above, what do you feel?
Do you feel empowered? Do you believe in the words you utter?
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 Principle 7: Find and Journey with the Right People
“Being with the right people is truly a game changer.”

Having the topnotcher mindset is not

enough. You need to find and journey with
like-minded individuals. These people can
help you achieve your goals. Motivational
speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the
average of the five people you spend your
most time with”. This implies that being
surrounded with supportive and goal-
driven individuals in your LPT journey is
essential to your success.
My co-reviewees way back in 2012.

The journey to being an LPT might be rough, and sometimes lonely. I

know the feeling because I’ve been there. I was lucky to have found individuals
who were as persistent as I in getting that license! We dreamt of becoming
topnotchers together. We share our thoughts, resources and time during the
review. It was indeed a memorable and beautiful journey.

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 Questions to ponder:
1. Why do you think it is important to be with the right people in your
LPT journey? How do you find these people?
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2. Which among the seven principles resonate with you the most? Why?
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 BONUS #1: THE GOODNEWS
As my way of saying thank you for reading this pdf, you can download
supplemental readings here: http://bit.ly/conceptnotes

This is a compilation of important professional education concepts you need

to master.

BONUS #2: FREE MASTERCLASS

I am conducting a FREE masterclass entitled, “The LET
Topnotchers’ Blueprint”. If you want to attend, please go to this link:
https://bit.ly/2H1EN7U The schedule is to be announced soon! Keep posted.

The principles, ideas and thoughts I have just shared are from my point of view.
My team, composed of LET topnotchers and review specialists, has a lot more to
share.

If you want me and my team to personally guide you in your journey of

becoming a licensed professional teacher, walk you through the seven principles
mentioned in this article and journey together with our success-driven students,
you may reach us via email: accounts@topthelet.com or message our official
Facebook page, Top the LET Online Academy
(https://www.facebook.com/reoletreview). We offer quality online review
program for Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers.

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 About the Author

Alfred Mark Aguilor graduated as Magna Cum Laude with the degree
Bachelor in Secondary Education Major in Mathematics from Xavier
University-Ateneo de Cagayan in March 2012. He took the Licensure
Examination for Professional Teachers in September 2012 and ranked 7th place
nationwide. He earned his master’s degree from Saint Paul University-Manila as a
DepEd MTAP Scholar with the degree Master of Arts in Curriculum Design
Development and Supervision Major in Actuarial Mathematics with the thesis
entitled: “On the Wiener Index of Divine Graphs and Vertex Corona of Two
Simple Graphs” where he explored some implications graph theory to the
field of education.

Startingthe yearDecember2012,he hasbeenconductinglecturesin differentreview

centers and universities as a LET Review mentor coaching thousands of aspiring
licensed professional teachers and helping them pass the licensure
examination for professional teachers.

Currently, he is a public school teacher, a senior national reviewer of Aim to Top

Review and Training Center, and the review director of REO Top the LET offering
quality LET review programs in the digital space with the help of his team
composed of LET topnotchers, and LET review mentors & specialists coming from
different regions of the country.

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 When the world doubts you,
be your first fan.
Believe in your ability and the beauty of
your dreams.
-Alfred Mark Aguilor
 Special thanks to
Ms. Kathleen Victoria, LPT
for editing this manuscript.

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