100+ Free SAS Data Scientist Practice Questions

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Which PROC SQL join returns only rows that have matching keys in both tables?

INNER JOIN

CROSS JOIN

LEFT JOIN

FULL OUTER JOIN

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: SAS Data Scientist Exam

$180

Per Underlying Exam

SAS global exam pricing

Prerequisite Professional Credentials

SAS Data Scientist credential page

100

Free Practice Questions

OpenExamPrep practice bank

2025-06-30

Path Refreshed

SAS certification update

Pearson VUE

Test Provider

SAS / Pearson VUE

Advanced

Difficulty Level

Capstone Professional credential

The SAS Data Scientist is a capstone Professional credential awarded once both the Advanced Programming Professional and AI & Machine Learning Professional are completed. Each underlying Pearson VUE exam costs $180 USD and is delivered in roughly 2 hours. Coverage spans SAS 9.4 programming (DATA step, PROC SQL, macros), SAS Viya machine learning (Model Studio, PROC FOREST, PROC GRADBOOST, PROC NNET, AutoTune), forecasting (PROC HPF, PROC ARIMA), NLP and CV (PROC TEXTMINE, deepLearn), optimization (PROC OPTMODEL), and deployment with SAS Model Manager. The credential structure was refreshed by SAS on June 30, 2025.

Sample SAS Data Scientist Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your SAS Data Scientist exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which PROC SQL join returns only rows that have matching keys in both tables?

A.LEFT JOIN

B.INNER JOIN

C.FULL OUTER JOIN

D.CROSS JOIN

Explanation: INNER JOIN returns rows where the ON condition is satisfied in both tables. Non-matching rows from either side are dropped, which is the strictest of the standard join types.

2Before using a MERGE statement with BY in a DATA step, what must be true of both input datasets?

A.They must have the same number of observations

B.They must be sorted (or indexed) by the BY variables

C.They must reside in the WORK library

D.They must contain only numeric variables

Explanation: DATA step MERGE with BY requires both datasets to be sorted by the BY variables (or have an index). Without sorted input, SAS issues an ERROR: 'BY variables are not properly sorted'.

3What is the purpose of FIRST.byvar and LAST.byvar automatic variables in BY-group processing?

A.They store the first and last values of every variable

B.They flag the first and last observation within each BY group, enabling group-level logic

C.They sort the data by ascending and descending order

D.They are file references for input and output datasets

Explanation: FIRST.byvar equals 1 on the first observation of a BY group and 0 otherwise; LAST.byvar equals 1 on the last observation. These flags drive group-level summing, retention, and conditional output logic.

4Which PROC reshapes a SAS dataset from wide to long (or long to wide) format?

A.PROC SORT

B.PROC TRANSPOSE

C.PROC APPEND

D.PROC FORMAT

Explanation: PROC TRANSPOSE pivots variables and observations. The BY statement preserves grouping, ID names new columns from a key variable, and VAR lists columns to transpose.

5In PROC SORT, what does the NODUPKEY option do?

A.Removes observations with duplicate values across all variables

B.Removes observations with duplicate values of the BY variables only

C.Sorts in descending order

D.Disables sorting and only checks order

Explanation: NODUPKEY drops observations whose BY-variable combination has already been seen. NODUPRECS (or NODUP) checks all variables. Use DUPOUT= to capture removed rows for inspection.

6Which SAS construct provides O(1) average-time key lookups inside a DATA step, avoiding multiple passes through a lookup table?

A.Hash object

B.Array

C.Format with PROC FORMAT

D.PROC SQL subquery

Explanation: Hash objects load keyed data into memory once and offer fast lookups via the find() method. They are commonly used to enrich large transactions with reference data without sorting.

7A SAS array statement defines what?

A.A separate dataset stored on disk

B.A temporary grouping of variables of the same type, referenced by index within a DATA step iteration

C.A user-defined format

D.A macro variable list

Explanation: An ARRAY groups same-type variables in one DATA step and lets you reference them with array_name{i}. Arrays do not persist to the dataset; they are scoped to the DATA step.

8Which PROC SQL clause filters groups after aggregation, distinct from WHERE which filters rows before aggregation?

A.ORDER BY

B.HAVING

C.GROUP BY

D.SELECT

Explanation: HAVING is evaluated after GROUP BY computes aggregate functions. WHERE filters individual rows before grouping, so it cannot reference aggregates.

9In SAS Studio's Data Loader for Hadoop or SAS Data Studio on Viya, what is data profiling primarily used for?

A.Encrypting data at rest

B.Summarizing column-level statistics, patterns, and quality issues to plan transformations

C.Submitting Spark jobs only

D.Generating visual dashboards for end users

Explanation: Profiling captures null counts, distinct values, value patterns, min/max, and frequency distributions so the data engineer can spot dirty data and design cleansing or standardization rules.

10A character column meant to hold US ZIP codes contains values like '02139', '2139', and ' 02139 '. Which standardization is most appropriate before joining on ZIP?

A.Convert to numeric and back to character

B.Trim whitespace, then left-pad to 5 characters with zeros

C.Drop all rows where length is not 5

D.Apply a Z5. format only at display time

Explanation: Standardizing the storage value with STRIP and PUT(input(zip,best.),Z5.) (or equivalent) gives a consistent 5-character ZIP for joins and lookups. Display-only formats do not change stored values.

About the SAS Data Scientist Exam

The SAS Certified Professional: Data Scientist credential validates end-to-end mastery of the SAS analytics toolkit: data wrangling, statistical modeling, machine learning on SAS Viya, NLP, computer vision, forecasting, optimization, deployment, and monitoring. It is awarded once a candidate earns both the SAS Advanced Programming Professional and the SAS AI & Machine Learning Professional credentials.

Assessment

Earned by passing the prerequisite Professional credentials (SAS Advanced Programming Professional + SAS AI & Machine Learning Professional). Each underlying Specialist exam typically has 50-65 multiple-choice and short-answer items.

Time Limit

Approximately 2 hours per underlying Specialist exam

Passing Score

Each underlying exam typically requires a scaled 700-725 of 1000

Exam Fee

$180 USD per underlying exam (SAS / Pearson VUE)

SAS Data Scientist Exam Content Outline

20%

Data Wrangling and SAS Programming

PROC SQL joins, DATA step MERGE with BY-group, FIRST./LAST., PROC TRANSPOSE, PROC SORT NODUPKEY, hash objects, arrays, RETAIN, FORMAT, macros, and PROC FCMP.

10%

Data Curation and Preparation on Viya

SAS Data Studio and Data Loader for profiling and cleansing, DS2 / PROC HPDS2 for parallel scoring code, CAS load patterns and table compression.

15%

Statistics and Inference

PROC UNIVARIATE, PROC FREQ, PROC CORR, PROC TTEST, PROC ANOVA, regression diagnostics, VIF, GLMs via PROC GENMOD, and overdispersion handling.

25%

Predictive Modeling

PROC REG, PROC LOGISTIC, PROC HPSPLIT, PROC FOREST, PROC GRADBOOST, PROC NNET, PROC GLMSELECT (LASSO), PROC PHREG, PROC KCLUS, and PCA via PROC PRINCOMP.

15%

ML Pipelines, Forecasting, and Optimization

Model Studio pipelines, AutoTune search strategies, Champion / Challenger, ensembles, partitioning and CV, PROC HPF, PROC ARIMA, hierarchical reconciliation, and PROC OPTMODEL.

Model Assessment and Interpretability

Confusion matrix, precision/recall, ROC AUC (c), KS, lift, RMSE, MAPE, AIC/BIC, partial dependence and ICE plots, SHAP, and PSI for monitoring.

Deployment, MLOps, and Big Data

SAS Model Manager registration and monitoring, score code, MAS and SCR REST endpoints, SAS Event Stream Processing, in-database scoring with DS2, CAS partitioning and co-located joins, Visual Analytics integration.

How to Pass the SAS Data Scientist Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Each underlying exam typically requires a scaled 700-725 of 1000
Assessment: Earned by passing the prerequisite Professional credentials (SAS Advanced Programming Professional + SAS AI & Machine Learning Professional). Each underlying Specialist exam typically has 50-65 multiple-choice and short-answer items.
Time limit: Approximately 2 hours per underlying Specialist exam
Exam fee: $180 USD per underlying exam

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

SAS Data Scientist Study Tips from Top Performers

1Treat the credential as two parallel tracks: tighten SAS 9.4 programming first, then move into Viya ML where Model Studio and PROC FOREST/GRADBOOST/NNET dominate.

2Build at least one Model Studio pipeline end to end (impute, transform, model, ensemble, assess) so Champion / Challenger and AutoTune feel routine.

3Practice writing score code (DS2 or DATA step) and registering it in SAS Model Manager - deployment questions favor candidates with hands-on experience.

4Master PROC LOGISTIC's CLASS, EVENT=, and DESCENDING options, plus odds-ratio interpretation. These appear in multiple guises across the prerequisite exams.

5Know which CAS partitioning and join patterns avoid network shuffles. Big-data efficiency is a recurring theme.

6Run timed mixed sets across all toolkits - the credential rewards breadth, so do not overinvest in any single PROC.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I earn the SAS Certified Professional: Data Scientist credential?

You earn it by completing two prerequisite Professional credentials: the SAS Advanced Programming Professional and the SAS AI & Machine Learning Professional. SAS issues the Data Scientist designation automatically once both are on your record.

Is there a single Data Scientist exam to register for?

No. The Data Scientist credential is a capstone awarded after passing the underlying Specialist and Professional exams that make up the two prerequisite credentials. There is no separate, single Data Scientist exam at Pearson VUE.

How much does it cost to earn the credential?

Each underlying Pearson VUE exam is $180 USD. Most candidates pay roughly $720+ across the Specialist exams that build into the two prerequisite Professional credentials. Student discounts are available.

What technologies are covered?

SAS 9.4 (DATA step, PROC SQL, macros) and SAS Viya (Model Studio, CAS, PROC FOREST, PROC GRADBOOST, PROC NNET, PROC TEXTMINE, the deepLearn action set, PROC HPF, PROC ARIMA, PROC OPTMODEL, and SAS Model Manager).

What changed in 2025?

On June 30, 2025, SAS refreshed the Data Scientist path to align around the Advanced Programming Professional and the AI & Machine Learning Professional credentials. Confirm the latest path on the SAS credential page before scheduling.

How long should I plan to study?

Most candidates spend 250-400 hours across the prerequisite Professional credentials, typically over 6-12 months alongside hands-on project work.

100+ Free SAS Data Scientist Practice Questions

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