Great questions, JR!
The exams are indeed moving towards including higher order thinking questions (e.g. questions with the stem word 'evaluate'), but I'm sure there will inevitably be some memorising to do!
There are different techniques involved in understanding and memorising.
Memorising is, in a nutshell, storing something in your head and retrieving it word for word. I think knowing is the same thing - if you know, you'll be able to regurgitate the knowledge. Simply memorising a definition word for word or regurgitating a concept straight from the textbook does not prove that you understood it. This alone will not be enough to answer a 'to what extent' question. Keep in mind that there are some subjects where rote learning is pretty much necessary like knowing all the steps of a process in science or quotes in English (but understanding what they mean is just as important).
Understanding is being able to grasp the meaning of a concept, and applying that knowledge to questions.
So, how can we ensure that we're understanding a concept rather than memorising?
Once you are able to thoroughly grasp the meaning of a concept (i.e. by reading notes, hearing it in a class setting), you could do something like writing out / summarising a concept in your own words, teaching it to someone else or doing a practice question with a stem word asking you to use higher order thinking skills.
Just my thoughts and opinions.
Hope this helps.