Do you really think that everything you study is going to be useful for your life as a pilot? I don't think so. Do you measure the width of the runway to know the number of threshold stripes required, or the distance between markings regarding a Break-In point? as a pilot, do you really need to know all the requirements to get an AOC? In the cockpit, will you need to calculate the wavelength of a radiowave?
I am almost completely sure that if you give one of these exams to an experienced pilot, he/she will probably fail it or get a low score, and that means that what we are studying is not what we are going to use up there, that's my point of view as an ATPL student.