This PL-300 practice question tests your understanding of visualize and analyze the data. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You need to create a measure that calculates the year-over-year growth percentage for sales. Which DAX function should you use?
DATEADD
Why wrong: DATEADD can be used but requires more complex syntax for YoY.
PARALLELPERIOD
Why wrong: PARALLELPERIOD shifts a period but not specifically for YoY comparison.
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR returns the same period in the previous year, ideal for YoY.
PREVIOUSYEAR
Why wrong: PREVIOUSYEAR returns the entire previous year, not the same period last year.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR
The SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR function is the correct choice for calculating year-over-year growth because it shifts the current filter context back by one year, returning a set of dates exactly one year prior. This allows you to compute the prior year's sales and then derive the growth percentage using a formula like (Current Sales - Prior Year Sales) / Prior Year Sales.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
DATEADD
Why it's wrong here
DATEADD can be used but requires more complex syntax for YoY.
PARALLELPERIOD
Why it's wrong here
PARALLELPERIOD shifts a period but not specifically for YoY comparison.
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR
Why this is correct
SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR returns the same period in the previous year, ideal for YoY.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
PREVIOUSYEAR
Why it's wrong here
PREVIOUSYEAR returns the entire previous year, not the same period last year.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR with PREVIOUSYEAR, mistakenly thinking PREVIOUSYEAR can be used for any period comparison, but PREVIOUSYEAR only works for full calendar year comparisons, not for partial periods like months or quarters.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR leverages the time intelligence engine in DAX to shift the filter context by exactly 365 days (or 366 in leap years), preserving the day granularity. A subtle behavior is that it works correctly only when the date table is marked as a date table with continuous dates; otherwise, it may return unexpected blanks. In real-world scenarios, this function is ideal for month-over-month or day-over-day year-over-year calculations without needing to manually adjust for leap years.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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FAQ
Visualize and analyze the data — This question tests Visualize and analyze the data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR — The SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR function is the correct choice for calculating year-over-year growth because it shifts the current filter context back by one year, returning a set of dates exactly one year prior. This allows you to compute the prior year's sales and then derive the growth percentage using a formula like (Current Sales - Prior Year Sales) / Prior Year Sales.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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