I think you've been taking the wrong history classes. The interesting stuff is the "why" and making connections between different events; and if you're tested on that sort of thing, a notecard with names-and-dates is about as helpful as a notecard with equations in a physics exam.
For an advanced history class, where students are expected to be able to make informed opinions about complex issues, this will work (and I suspect most advanced history classes don't focus much on memorization, or even tests for that matter).
But for general education history courses, the notion of "why" is just as much memorization as a list of dates. What if you disagree about the "why" that the teacher/textbook claimed? You'll lose points.
Besides, for all the history courses I've taken (just gen ed ones), tests weren't a big part. There were usually short quizzes on sections of the text book, which were testing for reading comprehension more than memorization. Essays and research papers were most of the grade.
Once again, that's YOUR thought process. It seems that you happen to link events together to remember an outcome. By simply knowing a few pieces of information, it's not likely most will "solve" the outcome. This has nothing to do with writing a well crafted essay that is opinion based such as "I believe person x did this for these reasons..." 99% of the time in history classes you know the outcome, it's not your job to solve it.
