DA0-002 Visualization and Reporting Practice Question
In a Power BI report, a user wants to create a measure that calculates total sales for the current year up to today. Which DAX function should they use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
TOTALYTD
TOTALYTD is a time intelligence function that calculates year-to-date values.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
TOTALYTD
Why this is correct
TOTALYTD evaluates the year-to-date total by applying a DATESYTD filter to the specified date column, automatically aggregating sales from the start of the current year through today. This directly satisfies the stem's requirement for a current-year-to-date measure without manual date filtering.
- ✗
CALCULATE
Why it's wrong here
CALCULATE changes filter context but performs no time-window filtering itself; it needs a filter argument such as DATESYTD to restrict dates to the current year through today. It is tempting because it is the standard wrapper for time intelligence, and would be correct when combining a time-intelligence filter with additional conditions.
- ✗
SUMX
Why it's wrong here
SUMX iterates a table and evaluates an expression per row, aggregating sales but applying no date filtering, so it returns all periods. It is tempting because it is the standard iterator for row-by-row arithmetic, and would be correct when summing a calculated expression across a table already filtered to the desired dates.
- ✗
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR
Why it's wrong here
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR shifts the date filter back one year, returning the equivalent prior-year period rather than the current year to date. It is tempting because it is a time-intelligence function, and would be correct when comparing this year's figures against the matching dates last year.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every DA0-002 question from scratch — 1,004 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DA0-002 exam.