How, in your opinion, could the JLPT be improved to better reflect language ability?

As I’m sure most of us know, the JLPT doesn’t always give the greatest look into a person’s true skill with the language. I know many N1s (mostly people who speak a language using kanji natively) who absolutely fall apart during conversation. I participate in a few volunteer-run Japanese language classrooms which are mostly geared toward conversation practice, so I’m lucky to have the opportunity to talk with people of all levels and backgrounds, but I usually find that many N1 students barely understand what is being said while the instructor and I are having a conversation.

I remember being placed with an N1 student and their instructor (at the time I had just started preparing for the N2, for reference) because my teacher was absent that day, and the instructor warned me “Watch out and try to keep up, they’re N1 so that means they’re good. Try and learn from this” and I immediately found myself running circles around them in conversation. That experience is what taught me to not give so much credit to someone’s JLPT level because they can blaze through much of the test just by guessing based on the kanji. In fact, I often find advanced-level learners with no prior kanji knowledge to be more skilled and eloquent.

I’m not trying to throw shade at any learners who have prior kanji knowledge. I’m very good friends with some of them, despite some difficulty with communication. But when we’re talking about the upper two levels of the JLPT, whether or not you have the certificate can be the difference between getting a job or getting accepted into a university and having your application thrown out immediately. In your opinion, what would be the best course of action to level the playing field and give everyone a fair shot? What would be your ideal layout for a new-and-improved JLPT?

It’s easy enough to say that a writing section and speaking section are needed, but what I’m looking for is how you’d want them to play out. Another break period after the listening section and then a third period for writing an essay? Using computers to listen to questions and then voice-record your answers for grading? I’m curious to see what everyone comes up with.