What subjects in academia does this truly not apply to? If you can use a book to get the answers on the test, you can use a book to get the answers when you need them "in real life." The only exceptions I can think of are obvious trades like police or doctors.
You gave history as an example. I must ask then: what is the point of a history education? If you just like history and want to learn more about it, you'll try to learn the "real" stuff (beyond memorization) on your own. If you want to be a history teacher (especially for grade school), sure, you can probably consider the dumb memorization useful. If you actually want to work in the field (i.e. do research), the memorization won't be useful.
You gave history as an example. I must ask then: what is the point of a history education? If you just like history and want to learn more about it, you'll try to learn the "real" stuff (beyond memorization) on your own. If you want to be a history teacher (especially for grade school), sure, you can probably consider the dumb memorization useful. If you actually want to work in the field (i.e. do research), the memorization won't be useful.