I'm having trouble coming up with any complex instruction given in schools that doesn't directly lead to being tested in an exam.

That depends a lot on the school. Mathematical proofs that take an hour to complete don't lend itself to testing in exams.

Mostly I think the problem is that schools are really bad at teaching things that don't lend itself to being tested. I had multiple teachers who did taught the idea that success is due to talent instead of being about the amount of time you put in.

If someone would have set me down and explained to me that hard work is really important, that would have done a lot.

Most subjects where some form of emotional intimacy is involved don't lend itself well to being tested.