It's so hard to test knowledge/learning in a standardized way without asking students to regurgitate facts, which is probably why memorization styles of teaching remain so popular and common. Unless we decide that standardized tests are unnecessary, I don't think this sort of teaching will go away anytime soon. I think it would be great if we could ask kids to solve/consider open ended problems for most tests, but grading then becomes highly subjective.

I do think there's a time and place for memorization though. Learning times tables in math, for example, doesn't require much critical thinking, just practice. Although I think it helps if you encourage kids to seek out and find patterns to make memorization easier. I learned my "x5" tables by associating the multiplications with the hands on a clock. (3 equals 15 minutes, etc.)

Another thing to consider is that different education systems have different goals, so this system may not always be detrimental for students. I teach in Japan. The education system here really embraces the "banking" style of teaching. In the West, we value independent ability, critical thinking, and creativity. In Japan, students aren't trained to question their teachers and ideas. Students are taught how to function well in a group, follow instructions, and produce high-quality work. I'd say Japanese education focuses more heavily on mistake avoidance than creative thinking. But is that a bad thing? The end goal for both US and Japanese education is to produce functional members of society. They just have different ways of going about it. I think both systems have significant strengths and weaknesses.