Should we ditch the test papers?

[ChessDadPlus]

you have nothing to lose but everything o gain from additional work, practice, effort.

Actually if you'd ever done any sports coaching, you'd know that that isn't strictly true. It is possible to practice beyond the point where performance starts to degrade - and if that starts to affect confidence it can then affect performance even more, even in subsequent sessions where the time gap would normally have been enough to allow for mental and physical recovery.

Fair point, but it's a matter of finding the right balance.
Obviously don't overdo it, but on the flip side don't underdo it either.
Hence ramp up slowly to find a comfortable level where you find the peak, and then ease off slowly whilst bearing your benchmark threshold in mind ...