Preparing to prepare for an exam
Throughout the past 23 years of preparing
aspiring candidates for the New Jersey Law
Enforcement Entry (LEE) exam, I have often
been asked, “What steps can I take now before I
attend your prep course?”
Since the entry-level exam being used by the
NJ Civil Service Commission is a very lengthy
DAVID
and specifically-designed, three-factor psychoPAPROTA
metric assessment, I provide the consistent
response: “Read, read, and read some more.”
This simple advice is so critical to a candidate’s
success. The longer a candidate has been away from an academic setting, the more important this advice becomes. For
many, once you are out of school, the practice of reading drops
to minimal levels.
Anybody who has sat for a very lengthy examination has likely
experienced some degree of reader fatigue. The fatigue is both
physiological and psychological. The perceived importance of
the examination creates a heightened level of stress, which, if
not harnessed properly, can contribute to fatigue midway
through an exam. Likewise, the strain on a person’s eyes during
a lengthy exam is a common problem for those who do not read
regularly.
These two negative effects are not mutually exclusive. The
stress experienced tends to contribute to the eye strain experi-
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enced during the testing process. As the eye strain worsens, a
candidate logically tends to experience more negative stress.
This phenomenon significantly contributes to decreased performance on a competitive exam.
While attending my entry-level exam preparation seminar is
extremely beneficial and recommended, there are steps candidates should take before the prep course even begins. It is highly
recommended that aspiring police candidates begin the
training process of preparing for the lengthy LEE exam now by
reading regularly to both enhance their reading skill, condition
their minds and bodies for both their studies and, ultimately, for
peak performance on the actual exam.
By saying reading skill, I specifically mean reading speed,
accuracy and comprehension. This training exercise of reading
should progressively grow in length and be with purpose. The
objective is to condition the eyes while also enhancing reading
skill. This means that candidates should not just read to get
through the paragraph or page, but should actually focus on the
content and context and try to recall what was read after completing small sections of the article or text. This small tip is one
of many that will make a considerable difference in
performance on exam day. Please let your friends and family
who will be sitting for the upcoming NJ Law Enforcement Entry
exam know. d