Which version of JBoss Tools are you using ? In our latest beta build I dont see the test button :( that sounds like a bug in it self.
That said let me try and outline how it is supposed to work:
A) the configuration of the remote server is assumed to the same/similar as your local configuration - so if you configure the local runtime to use standalone-full.xml then that is what the remote server will be started with if you dont have "assume server started" selected (then it will just try and connect)
B) The test simply verifies the directories and structures it expects are there - we don't try and verify the full structure (modules, etc.) but we should check for the files we know should be there for the startup - such as the xml file.
If you find areas/checks we don't cover or other behavior being bad please report as bug in https://jira.jboss.org/jira/browse/JBIDE
Thanks