Piltdown Man - how true you speak!
The JAR FCL LPC is an almost totally "testing" routine - I, and several of my colleagues have been chewed-off by the Training Inspectorate for 'instructing on a test'. I LOATHE the principle that I now have sit there with my mouth shut. Make cock-up? - Fail, tick the box. Every trainer used to know precisely when to apply discretion - not any more, you can lose your TRI/TRE in minutes with one particular Inspector (who, rumour has it, has never worked in the industry as an actual airline pilot.) Hate it - it's gone back 40 years.
High standards are maintained by continuation training not continuation testing.