Yeah that's not really what I meant by "practice." I meant just give them the text book and tell them to make sure they understand how to do the problems without looking them up, and that the best way to do that is to do the "practice problems" that look difficult.
I actually lost interest in the subject around that time, even after scoring high enough in regional competition previously to get a free choice of any high school.
So watch out, you may kill someone's enthusiasm by making them practice simple things the way you think is best to satisfy some silly rules. I ended up more happy not getting full marks on something I could do well than showing the work.