"I'm genuinely interested in alternative methods of assessing people's ability to write high-quality code." Step 1: Specify what high quality code IS. Step 2:

"I'm genuinely interested in alternative methods of assessing people's ability to write high-quality code." Step 1: Specify what high quality code IS. Step 2: Ask them to write high quality code. Step 3: ??? Step 4: Profit. You are taking the shotgun approach of asking everyone open-ended questions and if they don't strike your particular nerve, you dismiss them. You're not testing for ability, you test for luck. Most people are capable of following directions, but you are not providing direction. You just expect people to kinda know what it is that you're looking for.