Japanese Language Proficiency Test

Yes, you're right. The JLPT was written by a bunch of linear-thinking, anal-retentive academics who sit in their ivory towers all day reading Nihonjinron essays about why the Japanese are unique and have purposefully made the test more difficult than it has to be. Yes, it was designed for Asians who can speed read kanji, there's tons of obscure grammar and vocabulary, and it doesn't test your speaking ability, writing skills or pronunciation at all. From a very interesting site here.

But it can be somewhat motivating as it gives you a reason to study seriously. You'll pick up grammar, kanji, and vocabulary that will be useful to know, but which you ay not be able to use when speaking for quite a while.

The test itself and your score on it don't have much, if any, relevance to your speaking ability, so to call it a language proficiency test is a joke.