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There's a fair amount of arrogance in the idea of refusing to test. If testing is required, then test. If you don't want to jump through hoops, or you have some sort of philosophical (and, in my opinion, selfish) problem with testing and rank, then find a teacher who doesn't test or award rank.
Meta-discussions like this are fine, and sometimes fun, but in the end I'll still have to test and continue testing as long as I stay in a dojo affiliated with the AAA -- regardless of what's said on this board. We have one student, who because of time and work constraints, hasn't tested in the four years that I've been practicing (our instructor can only test up to 1st kyu). As I understand it, however, our sensei is working with the eastern region director to make accommodations for this student so he can test for shodan.
In our dojo, rank and testing matter. They're not the only things that matter, or what matters most, but they do matter. There are two aspects to rank and testing. The first is what's discussed here the most: how an individual performs, in the instructor's judgment, relative to a set of standards laid out by the organization. The second is an outgrowth of the first, but those of higher rank are expected to set an example for those of lower rank, take more responsibility for the running of the dojo, willingly help lower ranked students when they request it (usually this is an after class request for help on certain techniques), etc.
In other words, rank is important to the dojo as a whole (again, it's not the only important thing, or the things that most important). With rank comes responsibility and refusing to test can be seen as a refusal to take on additional responsibility.
One could argue that the situation needn't be that way. That one's skill could speak for itself and that rank would be superfluous. Sure. That's true. But that's not the way things are at my dojo, and frankly, we like it the way it is now.
Regards,
-Drew
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