I used to be very precise in my testing, shooting newsprint and such; thing is I always forgot to lock down some variable in my test (iso, or metering, or whatnot) and made the results technically useless. I finally gave it up and started shooting my local wooden streetlamp-post, and checked the grain. Does it look good? Yep, this lens passes
Another lens will do better, but if it passes that's enough. I did a few shootouts and found better lenses over time, but I cannot beat myself up over it if that means taking more test shots than 'real' ones. Took me a while to reach that point though; good luck as you progress on your path & I'm sure I will scrutinize your results anyway!
Some days I got to check more than wood-grain: