Some companies use this kind of screen more as a way to filter out people who aren't adequately interested in the company/job to put in the effort on the testing -- so perhaps in some cases it is working as designed.
well there's the rub. How am I supposed to be "adequately" interested in the company/job if I don't know anything about the company or the job?
That's what I mean by talking to a candidate before the screen. Going through a recruiter isn't sufficient for most of the information I would like before deciding to apply for the job.
In this argument, it would seem that to be "adequately interested" in a company, I need to be willing to do unpaid labor for them as a first step. I would argue that most, if not all companies, should disabuse themselves of the thought that this is anything but exploitation.
That's what I mean by talking to a candidate before the screen. Going through a recruiter isn't sufficient for most of the information I would like before deciding to apply for the job.