Riker congratulates Deanna on finding the correct solution "after trying every alternative." But in her final run of the simulation, she tried no alternatives. That means all of her attempts, taken cumulatively, constitute this part of the exam. (Riker may even have been following procedure by dropping the critical hint to her after a certain number of tries.) While the ultimate lesson is that the captain may have to order crewmembers to their deaths, the exam set-up also suggests that it's a test of how dedicated the candidate really is to passing.
Well not quite. Or rather that could be part of it, but Riker says in the end it's also a test of trying other solutions before finally realizing sacrificing a crewman is the only way. A good officer needs to know when to order someone to their death, but also never have it be too easy of a decision and never as the very first option without at least trying to see a way to save everyone before realizing it's not possible. An officer with a We Have Reserves mentality who's first response to any trouble is to start sacrificing crewmen is not going to be a very good one.
Data, who could not only easily repair the problem just as well if not faster than Geordi could but probably would be unharmed by the radiation, is suspiciously absent in the simulation with Worf (who had no reason to really be in Engineering in that situation) there instead. But that makes perfect sense, it's a test for all bridge officers in Starfleet to have to potentially order a crewman to their death. Not only would Data basically be an easy cheat out of that situation, but there's only one Data in all of Starfleet so 99 percent of all officers wouldn't have him on their ship as a solution in the first place. So he's not part of it.
Does Geordi know about his role in Riker's version of the Bridge Officer's Exam? Whom did Geordi have to send to their death in his version of the Exam?
He is not a bridge officer.
He was a bridge officer being going to Engineering and he's taken command of the bridge before, so he must have taken the test.
