Everyone know's its JUST a test. Realistically, wouldnt EVERY Starfleet cadet pass with flying colors for acting supremely confident in the face of.....a test. You would NEVER get the real reactions of future captains because you cant simulate certain death experiences if they arent ACTUALLY certain death experiences.

Kirk deserved a commendation for original thinking because Kirking your way through a silly test is the only respect that test deserved to be treated with.

So the difficulty and reverence for the test was based on the academy myth among cadets that the test WAS passable, but that no one was smart enough to do it? Only Kirk had the balls to realize Spock was trolling them?

The test, as it was originally designed, was not passable. Kirk simply made it passable by changing it from the original. So you essentially have two versions, a passable one and a non-passable one.

Acting confident isn't one of the parameters for passing.

1) Save the crew of the K.M.

2) Assure the safety of your own ship, and crew.

3) Repel, or destroy the Klingon attackers.

All three parameters have to be met for a passing grade.

You are misunderstanding the test entirely...

The mis-representation in the so-called 2009 Trek movie is wrong.

The point is not to test how the captain would react to certain death, but to evaluate how the cadet reacts to something they know they can not win, regardless of elements at their disposal.

Its a test to see how you deal with pressure and failure. Remember, most cadets don't know its no-win going in. They think they're being tested on tactics or command ability or something, yet no matter what they try it gets worse and worse. Do they despair, or get frustrated and lose their temper, or just give up, or what? Its not pleasant, and its certainly weighted against highly emotional species, but I can see its purpose.

This. In this case they know they're going to 'die'
The test is just to make sure they keep trying.

It makes sure you don't have captains who say "well thats a lot of borg- RAMMING SPEED!" at the beginning of battle.

Soon after it became a test for engineers to prove their hacking ability.

Actually ramming the borg (or more exactly going to warp through them ) is an instant kill and ensures they can not assimilate you

if starfleet had captains who rammed the borg the borg would have gone home

Sounds like an interesting concept for a Foundry mission.

Sadly beyond my skill to do (I suck at space maps)

My approach to the test is:

- Place the Kobyashi Maru between my ship and the Klingons.
- Drop shields long enough to beam any survivors from the Kobyashi Maru aboard.
- Destroy the Kobyashi Maru
- Tell the Klingons to go do one...