df1 - a cautionery tale indeed. At one interview (without said test) I knew that this was not the right manager or company for me but I had been unemployed for over a year (recession of the early 90s) and I had to take the job. I stuck it for 18 months before walking out. That gut feeling is usually the right one!
However, these 'tests' are indeed here to stay. Some companies request that you fill in the application form by hand as they do handwriting analysis.
They will choose anything that they think gives them more info. However, I am biased in that my father was a professional personnel manager and, later, executive head hunter for 20 years. He was of the old school and thought the term Human Resources very poor. His opinion was that an experienced and competent interviewer could find out all that was needed from the letter of application and a face to face with the person. This should then be followed up by a phone call to their previous employers, because people will say things on the phone that they will not put in writing. Or, simply, the things they do not say!