"Someone who's "good at passing exams" can extract clues to your mental state from the wording of the questions and figure out what kind of answer you want."
I actually tried an experiment on this when I was in high school. I took the AP Comparative Government without ever having taken the course, or really having any sort of academic exposure to it (hey, it was free with the purchase of the AP US Government, and I was taking the day off from school anyway for the latter test). My only knowledge consisted of what I read in the newspapers, plus half an hour with a test prep booklet at breakfast that morning, plus whatever I could glean from the test questions themselves.
I scored a 3 on it. Not a great score, but passing. Pretty good, actually, considering that the test involved writing 4 essays on a subject I knew nothing about. So I figure perhaps 50% of the outcome of a test is knowing the material and the other 50% is test-taking skills.
Ironically, though, I think that the skill of extracting subtle clues to the mental state of the people around you, and the answers they expect, is far more valuable than any subject matter you learn in school. It's absolutely essential if you work in an organization, so you can understand who the decision makers are, what their priorities are, and what will really impress them without them having to tell you anything. It's absolutely essential if you manage people, so that you understand why they're working for you and what will motivate them to do their best work. And it's absolutely essential if you choose to strike out on your own and be an entrepreneur, because that's how you tell what customers want. They're generally indifferent to you and often have no clue what they actually want; there's no way you'll get them to tell you.
I actually tried an experiment on this when I was in high school. I took the AP Comparative Government without ever having taken the course, or really having any sort of academic exposure to it (hey, it was free with the purchase of the AP US Government, and I was taking the day off from school anyway for the latter test). My only knowledge consisted of what I read in the newspapers, plus half an hour with a test prep booklet at breakfast that morning, plus whatever I could glean from the test questions themselves.
I scored a 3 on it. Not a great score, but passing. Pretty good, actually, considering that the test involved writing 4 essays on a subject I knew nothing about. So I figure perhaps 50% of the outcome of a test is knowing the material and the other 50% is test-taking skills.
Ironically, though, I think that the skill of extracting subtle clues to the mental state of the people around you, and the answers they expect, is far more valuable than any subject matter you learn in school. It's absolutely essential if you work in an organization, so you can understand who the decision makers are, what their priorities are, and what will really impress them without them having to tell you anything. It's absolutely essential if you manage people, so that you understand why they're working for you and what will motivate them to do their best work. And it's absolutely essential if you choose to strike out on your own and be an entrepreneur, because that's how you tell what customers want. They're generally indifferent to you and often have no clue what they actually want; there's no way you'll get them to tell you.