'exam-oriented' is a compound of 'exam' and 'oriented'. 'exam' originates from Medieval Latin 'examen' (a weighing, investigation) and later from 'examination' meaning 'a formal test'; 'oriented' originates from French/Latin 'orient-' from Latin 'oriri' meaning 'to rise' (originally 'east'), later used in the sense 'to align toward'.

'exam' came into English via Latin 'examen' and Old French forms and developed into Middle English 'examen' and modern 'examination', later shortened in colloquial use to 'exam'. 'orient' entered English from Old French 'orienter', itself from Latin 'orientare' (from 'oriri'), and 'oriented' is the past-participle/adjectival form used to mean 'directed toward'. The compound 'exam-oriented' formed by modern English compounding to mean 'directed toward exams'.

Initially 'examen' meant 'a weighing' or inspection; over time it came to mean 'a formal test' and now 'exam' commonly means 'test'. 'Orient' originally referred to the east ('rising place') and to turning toward a direction; this broadened to mean 'to direct or align toward', so 'oriented' now means 'directed toward' (hence 'exam-oriented' = directed toward exams).