Pugzi,
I would like to comment,
I agree with you that it shouldn't be necessary to look at the questions. The problem is that the education is so good they have to make a lot of "stupid" questions for the tests to make some students fail. If all students pass they take it not as a good education, but as a too easy test.
I don't know what subject(s) you are teaching, but a lot of the stuff today IS really massive memorizing, like IFR system minima (80 different RVRs total to be memorized). In this case you can't talk about understanding, but only raw memorizing.
For other stuff you don't know what level of detail the questions will be just by looking at learning objectives. This was causing most of the problems in the beginning af JAA ATPL testing. Who ever knew that not only did you have to know all the GPWS modes (fair enough) but you also had to remember what number they have in the table, like 1,2,3,4a,4b,5,6a or 6b ! If a pilot gets a "Terrain, terrain, pull up!", I am sure the first thing he will do is wander what number that mode is - NOT ! No-one would be able to guess that from the learning objectives, without seeing the questions first.
The ideal system would be easier tests, less memorizing of "unnecessary" stuf that no-one ever uses anyway (who cares - other than the relevant constructors - about the dimensions of the stripes on break-in points or what paint is used for runway markings, really !). On this case there would be no need for 3rd party question banks, because if you just read the book, followed the courses and studied for yourself, you would pass the test.
Just my 10 P worth is not enough here, I think I used for at least one pound here ...