The Certified Data Analytics Specialist (CDAS) is an advanced, vendor-neutral certification for the analysts who turn data into decisions. It validates that you can frame the right question and run the analytics lifecycle, prepare and clean data to a trustworthy state, apply statistics without falling into the classic traps, visualize honestly and design clear dashboards, communicate insight to any audience, and work within governance, privacy and ethics. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Advanced. A specialist credential: it goes deep on analyzing and communicating data and assumes working analytics or reporting experience. |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Computer adaptive, three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so no two candidates sit the same paper. |
| Format | 120 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every tool and platform. |
| Time | 180 minutes for the whole exam, timed. Autosaves every answer. |
| Scoring | You need a score of 700 out of 900 to pass. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly. Harder questions carry more weight, so a score means the same thing on any route. Multiple-response items and PBQs are all or nothing. |
| Retakes | No waiting period after a failed first attempt. Every attempt is paid for at the exam price. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy. |
| Voucher validity | 12 months from purchase, for one sitting. |
| Certification validity | 3 years. Renew with 75 CEUs per cycle and the $55 annual CE fee, or pass the current exam. Renewal details. |
| Language | English. |
| Credential | PDF certificate with QR code, public verification page, LinkedIn-ready credential ID. Issuer: CertLabz Certification Board. |
| Free resources | The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. |
| Workforce mapping | NICE Framework work roles: Data Analysis (IO-WRL-001). O*NET occupations: Data Scientists (15-2051.00), Business Intelligence Analysts (15-2051.01). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CDAS is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you match analytics types to the questions they answer, fix a misleading chart, order the data-preparation steps, and draw the sound conclusion from a statistic. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests doing analytics rather than reciting definitions.
Framing the question, the analytics lifecycle, and cleaning and integrating data to a trustworthy state.
Central tendency and spread, correlation versus causation, p-values, sample size and sampling bias.
Choosing the right chart, avoiding misleading axes and chartjunk, and designing clear, focused dashboards.
Data storytelling for any audience, plus privacy, ethics and reproducible analytics operations.
Data analytics is one of the most in-demand skill sets across every sector, and analysts who can be trusted with the whole lifecycle move up fast. Every route is shown here at once, so nothing is hidden behind a control you have to find.
United States pay reported by Glassdoor, checked September 2026. Pay varies by location, employer and experience. No certification guarantees a salary or a job.
| CertLabz CDAS | CompTIA Data+ | Google Data Analytics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam | Course certificate |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | No | No |
| Scope | Analytics end to end | Data analytics concepts | Entry analytics course |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Yes | Tool-based |
| Proctored | Yes | Yes | No |
| Questions | 120 | Up to 90 | Course quizzes |
| Time | 180 min | 90 min | Self-paced |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | 675/900 | Completion |
| Course required | No | No | Yes |
| Exam voucher | $199 | About $253 | Subscription |
Compiled September 2026 from the CompTIA Data+ and Google Data Analytics Certificate pages. Data+ is a concept exam and the Google certificate is a course; the CDAS is an adaptive exam with performance-based questions. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners; CertLabz is not affiliated with any of them. Confirm current details with each provider.
Six reasons this credential is worth your time, and worth an employer's attention.
One price for the exam, set by its level. Bundles add the study guide and hands-on practice at a saving.
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Every form is drawn from a bank of more than 130 items to these exact weights, whichever adaptive route you take. Filter by the area you want to study.
The exam runs in three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so a strong candidate is stretched and a struggling one is measured fairly rather than swamped. No two candidates sit the same paper. Harder questions carry more weight, so a scaled score means the same thing whichever route you took.
Each exam can have up to 5 to 12 performance-based questions, drawn fresh on every attempt, alongside the multiple-choice questions. A PBQ is a task rather than a list: you match analytics types to questions, fix a misleading chart, order preparation steps, or draw the sound conclusion. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
Yes. Concepts apply across spreadsheets, SQL, BI tools and notebooks. Where a question involves a technique, it is described generically, not by one product's menus.
No. The CDAS focuses on analytics reasoning, statistics, visualization and communication. Familiarity with a spreadsheet, SQL or a BI tool helps, but no specific language is required.
700 out of 900. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly.
There is no waiting period between a failed first attempt and a second attempt. Buy another voucher and sit the exam again when you are ready, and it will draw a fresh adaptive form from the bank. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy.
Yes, after three years. Keep it current by logging 75 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $55 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CDAS Official Study Guide is a $50 ebook, included in two of the bundles. Hands-on practice comes with the All Access plan, included in the Complete bundle.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, a stable connection, and a quiet private room for three hours. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CDAS is a continuing-education certification, like the CE credentials from CompTIA and ISC2. It is valid for three years from the day you pass. To keep it, log 75 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $55 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again.
CEUs are logged from your CertLabz dashboard with supporting evidence. A certification that lapses can be reinstated only by passing the current exam.
Buy a voucher, study the objectives, sit the exam when you are ready. Your credential is issued the moment you pass.