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There is a legitimate distinction between memorization by rote and conceptual understanding. An example from my experience: success in introductory physics courses is more dependent on understanding the situational use of a small number of fundamental relationships rather than the ability to recall the exact syntax of a larger set of derived equations.</p>
<p>Also, don’t underestimate the importance of retrieval as a part of the learning process, not just an evaluation tool. This is why working practice exams and problems is a more effective study device than reading the text or studying notes. See:
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. science, 319(5865), 966-968.</p>