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This investigation considers the relationship between test scores and a sorting task conceptual macrostructure measure based on topic-level term-term distances as Pathfinder networks. In Study 1 (n = 255), grade 7 Chinese students completed a sorting task 1 month after the traditional in-class lessons and exam. In Study 2 (n = 220), grade 8 students completed the sorting task immediately after self-directed study of a history text. In addition, a month later 68 of the students in Study 2 were further instructed to write a short essay about this content. Study 1 results showed significant correlations between the sorting task macrostructure network measures and both lesson and unit test scores. Study 2 obtained the same significant correlations between sorting task macrostructure network measures and performance on tests. In addition, in Study 2, essay conceptual networks of historical content were better for the high prior knowledge students. Both the sorting task and the essay writing task measures can complement traditional exam measures so that conceptual knowledge structure aspects of students’ learning can be identified for formative and summative purposes.