Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300) Exam Prep

What's inside

1. Level 1: PL-300 Orientation: Exam, Study Guide and Game PlanFree
   [Exam orientation] Covers how the exam works. Microsoft writes the study guide (skills measured as of April 20, 2026), and it is free on Microsoft Learn but not reproduced here. The exam lasts 100 minutes, needs a scaled score of 700 to pass, and has four weighted sections: Prepare the data 25–30%, Model the data 25–30%, Visualize and analyze the data 25–30%, Manage and secure Power BI 15–20%. The level also covers the question formats you will meet, and states that this course is independent of Microsoft and does not promise a pass.
2. Level 2: Connect to Data Sources and Shared Semantic ModelsFree
   [Prepare the data – Get or connect to data] Teaches you to identify and connect to data sources (files, folders, databases, Dataverse, Fabric lakehouses and warehouses through the OneLake catalog) and to a shared semantic model through a live connection, and when to choose each.
3. Level 3: Data Source Settings: Credentials and Privacy Levels
   [Prepare the data – Get or connect to data] Shows how to change data source settings, including editing or clearing credentials, changing a source path, and setting the Private, Organizational and Public privacy levels, plus what those levels do when queries combine sources.
4. Level 4: Storage Modes: Import vs DirectQuery vs DirectLake
   [Prepare the data – Get or connect to data] Compares Import, DirectQuery and DirectLake (plus composite and Dual) on data freshness, performance, size limits, DAX and Power Query support, and refresh needs, so you can pick the best storage mode for a scenario.
5. Level 5: Create and Modify Power Query Parameters
   [Prepare the data – Get or connect to data] Teaches you to create and modify parameters in Power Query to make server names, file paths and filter values configurable across development and production, including how parameters are edited after publishing.
6. Level 6: Profile Data: Statistics and Column Properties
   [Prepare the data – Profile and clean the data] Shows how to evaluate data with Column quality, Column distribution and Column profile, why profiling defaults to the top 1,000 rows, and how to read the statistics and column properties to spot problems before loading.
7. Level 7: Clean Data and Resolve Import Errors
   [Prepare the data – Profile and clean the data] Teaches you to resolve inconsistencies, unexpected or null values and data quality issues (trim, clean, replace values, fill down, remove errors and duplicates), and to diagnose and fix data import errors such as type conversion errors and missing-column refresh failures.
8. Level 8: Column Data Types and Creating Columns
   [Prepare the data – Transform and load the data] Teaches you to select appropriate column data types (including decimal versus fixed decimal versus whole number, date versus date/time, and locale) and to create and transform columns with Column From Examples, conditional columns, custom columns, split and merge columns.
9. Level 9: Group, Aggregate, Pivot, Unpivot and Transpose
   [Prepare the data – Transform and load the data] Covers how to group and aggregate rows with Group By (basic and advanced), and how to reshape tables with pivot, unpivot and transpose, including when Unpivot Other Columns is the safer choice.
10. Level 10: Convert Semi-Structured Data to a Table
    [Prepare the data – Transform and load the data] Teaches you to convert semi-structured data (JSON, XML, nested lists and records, and Excel ranges with header rows offset) into a clean table by expanding and promoting headers.
11. Level 11: Fact and Dimension Tables; Reference vs Duplicate
    [Prepare the data – Transform and load the data] Shows how to create fact tables and dimension tables from a flat source to form a star schema, and when to use reference queries or duplicate queries, including the impact on dependencies, refresh and maintenance.
12. Level 12: Merge, Append, Keys and Data Loading
    [Prepare the data – Transform and load the data] Teaches you to merge queries with each join kind and append queries, to identify and create appropriate keys for relationships (natural, composite and index-based surrogate keys), and to configure data loading with Enable load and Include in report refresh.
13. Level 13: Configure Table and Column Properties
    [Model the data – Design and implement a data model] Teaches you to configure table and column properties in Model view: names and descriptions, hidden fields, data category, format strings, default summarization, Sort by column and display folders.
14. Level 14: Relationships: Cardinality and Cross-Filter Direction
    [Model the data – Design and implement a data model] Teaches you to define a relationship's cardinality (one-to-many, one-to-one, many-to-many) and cross-filter direction (single or both), along with active versus inactive relationships and the ambiguity and performance risks of bidirectional filters.
15. Level 15: Create a Common Date Table
    [Model the data – Design and implement a data model] Shows how to create a common date table with DAX (CALENDAR or CALENDARAUTO plus ADDCOLUMNS) or Power Query, mark it as a date table, and turn off Auto date/time, so that time intelligence works reliably.
16. Level 16: Implement Role-Playing Dimensions
    [Model the data – Design and implement a data model] Teaches you to implement role-playing dimensions such as Order Date, Ship Date and Due Date, either with inactive relationships activated by USERELATIONSHIP or with copies of the dimension table, and covers the trade-offs of each.
17. Level 17: Calculated Columns and Calculated Tables: Use Cases
    [Model the data – Design and implement a data model / Create model calculations by using DAX] Teaches you to identify use cases for calculated columns and calculated tables, create them with DAX, and decide between a calculated column, a Power Query column and a measure based on row context, refresh-time evaluation and model size.
18. Level 18: Single Aggregation Measures
    [Model the data – Create model calculations by using DAX] Teaches you to create single aggregation measures (SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTROWS, DISTINCTCOUNT, DIVIDE) and why explicit measures beat implicit summarization, including how filter context shapes each result.
19. Level 19: The CALCULATE Function
    [Model the data – Create model calculations by using DAX] Covers how to use the CALCULATE function to modify filter context: Boolean filters, FILTER, ALL, REMOVEFILTERS, ALLEXCEPT and KEEPFILTERS, and context transition, so you can write percent-of-total and filtered measures.
20. Level 20: Time Intelligence Measures
    [Model the data – Create model calculations by using DAX] Teaches you to implement time intelligence measures on the common date table: year-to-date (TOTALYTD, DATESYTD), prior-period comparisons (SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR, DATEADD, PARALLELPERIOD), rolling windows (DATESINPERIOD) and year-over-year growth.
21. Level 21: Statistical and Semi-Additive Measures
    [Model the data – Create model calculations by using DAX] Covers the basic statistical functions (AVERAGE, MEDIAN, MIN, MAX, COUNTROWS, DISTINCTCOUNT, STDEV.P and their X variants) and semi-additive measures. A semi-additive measure, such as an inventory or account balance, should not be summed across time. You return the closing balance with patterns such as LASTDATE, LASTNONBLANK and CLOSINGBALANCEMONTH.
22. Level 22: Quick Measures and Calculation Groups
    [Model the data – Create model calculations by using DAX] Covers creating a measure with quick measures and checking the DAX it generates. It then covers creating calculation groups, using SELECTEDMEASURE so that one set of calculation items (Current, YTD, PY, YoY %) works for every base measure.
23. Level 23: Optimize Model Performance
    [Model the data – Optimize model performance] Covers using Performance Analyzer and DAX query view to find slow measures, relationships and visuals. You then improve performance by removing unnecessary rows and columns and by reducing granularity, for example from transaction level to daily or monthly summaries.
24. Level 24: Select, Format and Configure Visuals
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Create reports] Covers how to select an appropriate visual for a business question (comparison, trend, composition, distribution, relationship, KPI or table detail). It then covers formatting and configuring visuals in the Format pane: titles, axes, data labels, legends and field wells.
25. Level 25: Themes, Conditional Formatting and Page Setup
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Create reports] Covers applying and customizing a report theme, including built-in themes and JSON theme files. It also covers conditional formatting by color scale, rules and field value, and configuring the report page: canvas size, background, wallpaper and page visibility.
26. Level 26: Slicing, Filtering and Sorting
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Create reports / Enhance reports for usability and storytelling] Covers slicing and filtering with slicers and visual-, page- and report-level filters in the Filters pane, including Top N and relative date filters. It also covers applying sorting to visuals, including sort-by-column.
27. Level 27: Copilot in Power BI Reports
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Create reports] Covers creating a narrative visual with Copilot, using Copilot to create a new report page and using Copilot to suggest content for a new report page. It also covers the prerequisites for using Copilot and why its output needs human review.
28. Level 28: Visual Calculations and Paginated Reports
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Create reports] Covers creating visual calculations using DAX functions such as RUNNINGSUM, MOVINGAVERAGE and PREVIOUS on a visual's own data. It also covers when to choose a paginated report over a Power BI report: pixel-perfect, printable, multi-page operational output.
29. Level 29: Bookmarks, Selection Pane and Navigation
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Enhance reports for usability and storytelling] Covers grouping and layering visuals with the Selection pane, configuring bookmarks (data, display and current-page options) and configuring navigation for a report with buttons, page navigators and bookmark navigators.
30. Level 30: Tooltips, Interactions, Drillthrough, Sync
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Enhance reports for usability and storytelling] Covers creating custom report-page tooltips, editing interactions between visuals (filter, highlight, none), configuring sync slicers across pages, and configuring drillthrough navigation including drillthrough pages, filters and buttons.
31. Level 31: Mobile Layout and Accessible Report Design
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Enhance reports for usability and storytelling] Covers designing reports for mobile devices with the mobile layout view. It also covers designing and configuring Power BI reports for accessibility: alt text, tab order, titles, color contrast, markers and not relying on color alone.
32. Level 32: Export, Personalization and Page Refresh
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Enhance reports for usability and storytelling] Covers configuring export settings, including what consumers can export and in which formats. It also covers enabling personalization in a report, including personalized visuals and persistent filters, and configuring automatic page refresh with fixed-interval and change-detection options.
33. Level 33: Analyze, Grouping, Binning, Clustering, AI
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Identify patterns and trends] Covers using the Analyze feature (explain the increase or decrease, find where the distribution is different) and using grouping, binning and clustering. It also covers the AI visuals: Key influencers, Decomposition tree, Q&A and Smart narrative.
34. Level 34: Forecasting, Outliers and Model Summaries
    [Visualize and analyze the data – Identify patterns and trends] Covers reference lines, error bars and forecasting in the Analytics pane, and detecting outliers and anomalies with anomaly detection and scatter-chart techniques. It also covers using Copilot to summarize the underlying semantic model.
35. Level 35: Workspaces and Publishing Items
    [Manage and secure Power BI – Create and manage workspaces and assets] Covers creating and configuring a workspace (license mode, contacts, settings) and publishing, importing or updating items in a workspace from Power BI Desktop, including republishing and replacing a semantic model.
36. Level 36: Apps, Dashboards and Distribution
    [Manage and secure Power BI – Create and manage workspaces and assets] Covers creating dashboards by pinning tiles and live pages, configuring and updating an app (audiences, content and pushing updates), and choosing a distribution method among apps, workspace access, sharing, publish to web and embedding.
37. Level 37: Subscriptions, Alerts and Endorsement
    [Manage and secure Power BI – Create and manage workspaces and assets] Covers configuring report and dashboard subscriptions and data alerts on dashboard tiles. It also covers promoting or certifying Power BI content through endorsement, and who is allowed to certify.
38. Level 38: Gateways and Scheduled Refresh
    [Manage and secure Power BI – Create and manage workspaces and assets] Covers identifying when a gateway is required (on-premises sources and private networks, as opposed to cloud sources) and configuring semantic model scheduled refresh, including credentials, frequency, time zone and failure notifications.
39. Level 39: Workspace Roles and Item Access
    [Manage and secure Power BI – Secure and govern Power BI items] Covers assigning workspace roles (Admin, Member, Contributor, Viewer), configuring item-level access through sharing and direct access, and configuring access to semantic models, including Build permission.
40. Level 40: Row-Level Security and Sensitivity Labels
    [Manage and secure Power BI – Secure and govern Power BI items] Covers implementing row-level security roles in Power BI Desktop with static and dynamic (USERPRINCIPALNAME) rules, and configuring RLS group membership in the service. It also covers applying sensitivity labels and how they carry through to exports.
41. Level 41: Timed Mock Exam: PL-300 (50 Questions, 100 Minutes) Timed mock
    [All sections: Prepare the data, Model the data, Visualize and analyze the data, Manage and secure Power BI] A timed mock exam of 50 original scenario questions in 100 minutes that tests every skill in the April 20, 2026 skills measured, with questions drawn from each section by its weighting, a 70% pass mark and an explanation for every distractor.

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