What do you think of this test....

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Guys I got a call from a friend wanting info on a test I took awhile back, and it got me thinking.  I just thought I would see if you all have the same opinion of it that i did.   We recently got into a program with the state installing Items on water sources.  In order to classify to perform the moderate or difficult level installs we had to pass a welding test that the state put together.  This is what the test consisted of..... We were told to only bring helmets, chipping hammers, and brushes if we needed them.  When we walked in we were given two 2" pieces of 8"sch 40  that had been sawed in a band saw. NO bevel, and the gap was not specified.  Given 3/32" 7018 rods.  We were to mark the pipe at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o,clock positions.  We were to weld one quarter of the seam overhead, 1/4th uphill, 1/4th flat, and the last in a horizontal position.  We were told we needed 100% penetration, and to run a root and fill passes and a cap with no visible porosity.  There was not an x-ray or destructive test conducted,  only a visual inspection.    Am I crazy or is this test completely worthless????   Considering most of the pipe used in the systems we worked on is Glavanized .120 wall.  I have a hard time seeing what the merit of a test like this is.  If you were in this position how would you have gone about the weld?  Just for the record out of a dozen or so people taking it I think three maybe four of us passed, and if anyone saw me while I did mine I promise they got a good laugh out of it.  Just curious as to your opinions.    ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:They may have just wanted a quick simple method of thinning down the crowd. Sounds like they eliminated 3/4s in a hurry.
Reply:Yea you could say that, Sandy.   Truth be known had I been the one evaluating I'm not sure I would have been happy with the look of any of them. Mine included, haha.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:[QUOTE=Hammack_WeldingJust for the record out of a dozen or so people taking it I think three maybe four of us passed . . . .[/QUOTE]I think you have your answer as to why they came up with this test.You ask if I had to take this test what would I do -- I don't know thing one about pipe so I have no idea what would have been among the "right" ways of tackling that job.  That would have weeded me out quick.  We have a test to quickly weed out carpenters -- hand the new guy a handful of nails or ask him to sharpen his pencil.  Sometimes built a set of horses from scrap.  Watching what the guy does tells a lot more than what the final result is.
Reply:I think that the test will show a bit about how you can weld in several positions, how well you handle a crud job under pressure, and if you can prep the pipe on your own in the field well enough to get the desired result. 7018 isn't the rod I would want for the job, but you can burn a prep in with it if you need to.Test worthless? As a welder qualification as per AWS or ASME, pretty much. But if you don't know what their goal was, you don't know if maybe it showed them exactly what they wanted to see.