I was having dinner with someone who explained that his (non-US) school had not only made them learn all the states, but also all the primary goods manufactured by each state. And the trade routes between states. For their exam, they were given an outline of the United States, and they needed to add the geographical landmarks (great lakes, major rivers, mountain ranges), major regions ("grain belt", "rust belt", etc.), and the states in those regions. They also had to learn the same for Canada, and the various regions of the UK. By comparison, I recall in 4th grade we had to memorize the state capitols. We lived in Colorado for YEARS before my husband finally figured out that the Rocky Mountains were located to the WEST of us, and ran North-South, not located to the NORTH of us, running at a weird NorthEast - SouthWest diagonal.