The FAA exam is like the other ATP exams and theory I have done in my 40 year career. Totally theoretical and mostly unrelated to the real world.
Especially in flight planning,w and b and perf. Having to interpolate as fine as 40lbs difference in fuel burn to get the correct answer in a 727 burning 8000lbs/hour is not only pointless but negative training. Landing dist calcs the same, countless questions that test your ability to thumb a calculator and interpolate that would get you into trouble in the real world.
crazy stuff.