[kbknapp]

Exams mostly don't assess knowledge and understanding, only snapshot regurgitation of facts and snippets. Additionally, when one takes an exam it's rare to require 100% correct to "pass" (and even when that does happen it's only 100% of the sliver of the total subject matter that was assessed). I know plenty of people (as I'm sure we all do) that can pass a test and still be functionally useless in a particular field. Not that I'm against exams (and I'll lump in certifications), I just don't think they're the silver bullet many make them out to be at least in the tech industry.