Glen i agree about the situation with the specific girl and there may have been an array of factors, the biggest probably that she was hell nervous doing all that while the rest of the class, (guys) watched her. But this does not mean there are people who cannot ride and still get through the test and are let loose on the road.
Licensing in other countries, especially europe cost a fair bit more, but when you think about it, everytime you get a new card its costs $, then L's test, computer test, p's test, new card, unrestricted license $, + new card. it doesnt end up being as cheap.
I dont belive you have to be a valentino rossi to get your licence, just concerned that people think they can do it when they cant and are oblivious to the dangers. In the P's tst they give you a bit of a talk about road positioning etc but i dont think its enough.
not much anyone can do really, but if you know someone doing thier licence you could offer to ride around the back streets with them and give them a few tips about riding, better than finding out the hard way