Your Security+ Score Report Names Every Objective You Missed
A failed SY0-701 report is not just a number. CompTIA lists the exact objective numbers you got wrong, which turns a retake from restudying everything into closing named gaps.
Most people who fail SY0-701 focus on just one number and then close the tab. That's a natural reaction, but it means missing out on the most helpful information in the report.
The report doesn't just tell you your score; it lists the exam objectives you missed questions in, by number.
What the report actually prints
Under your scaled score, CompTIA prints something like this:
You incorrectly answered one or more questions in the following objective areas:
Then it lists the objective numbers with their official titles. Real reports include sets like 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2.
Security+ isn't unique here; the same section appears on A+ reports, listing Core 1 objectives in the same format. Few people realize it's there. Hardly anyone, in fact.
The difference it makes
Without this list, a failed exam feels like starting over: rewatching the entire course, redoing every practice set, restudying all five domains. It takes weeks, and most of that time goes on material you already knew perfectly well.
With the list, you see specific gaps. For example, if your report lists 2.3, 2.5, and 4.1, you're not revising the whole exam; you're focusing on closing these three objectives. There's a document that spells out what each number covers, and you can check your work against it.
An open-ended restudy becomes structured. That is the whole difference.
Read the caveat before planning around it
This section doesn't tell you how many questions you missed in each area. An objective lands on the list whether you missed one or all of them in that area.
So treat it as a list of places to look, not a ranking. How should you prioritize? Two ways.
Weight by the exam's own domain percentages. The five SY0-701 domains aren't equally weighted, so objectives in heavier domains deserve more of your time.
Weight by surprise. If you expected to be solid on an objective but still missed questions, it's a hole you weren't checking. If you already knew an area was shaky, it's confirming what you knew.
It appears on a pass, too
To clear things up: this section isn't just for failures. Passing reports carry it too.
Say you passed and the report names four objectives. Is that worth anything? Quite a lot. Security+ is valid for three years, and the material doesn't stop mattering the day you certify. Knowing which four areas you were weakest in is better than a vague sense that it all went well, whether your next step is another certification or a job.
If you are about to retake
Two small notes. Is either complicated? No.
- Photograph or screenshot the report when you get it. Access runs through your CompTIA account, and having that objective list somewhere you'll actually look at while studying beats trying to remember to dig it out.
- Map every listed number to the official objectives document before you study anything. The numbers alone aren't a study plan. 2.3 is just four characters; the objectives breakdown turns it into a specific list of concepts, and that list tells you what to work through.