I increased 100 points on my SAT by studying. There's some degree you can learn how they ask questions and such.

In any case, I'm fairly sure that the Chinese test is not much like the SAT, and does indeed test for a bunch of memorized knowledge. Every part of the Chinese educational system has a huge emphasis on memorized knowledge.

I think the relevant point is not whether you can improve your test score by studying (you can). It's whether or not this is a good thing to be expending your energy on (from the public point of view).