The fundamental equations of physics are its alphabet, and you can't write the language if you don't know the alphabet.
It is impossible to attack general physics without a deep feeling for the equations, and having a feeling for them means knowing them plus knowing what they mean and where they apply. This is less true when the context is extremely limited, as in our midterms, but when you hit the real world, I think you will know what I mean.
The difficulty of remembering one page of equations pales compared with the need to remember the contents of many books, as people have to do in many other disciplines.
There are no note sheets or lists of equations in GRE tests or in any graduate level exams, and we have a duty to prepare our students for these.
Those who learn little else may at last remember some equations.
Finally, remembering a few equations guarantees a few easy points in each test!