I believe this is an issue of how exams are done. There are certainly exams I've written, in Math, in English, in Philosophy, that tested my understanding, and there are certainly some that didnt.
Definitely agree. As a kid, it really bugged me when there were poorly worded questions that were often ambiguous if you thought about it. I found that exam success often relied on trying to think what the questions were looking for rather than what they were actually asking - basically considering the questions in the context of the course material.
