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Technical Issues

How does my school access AP Potential?

Go to https://appotential.collegeboard.com to sign in to AP Potential. First time visitors will be asked to create an education professional account, and enter an access code. Access codes are included on schools' PSAT/NMSQT Roster of Student Scores and Plans. If you have any difficulty accessing AP Potential, call 212 713-8066.

I don't have an access code. How can I get one?

Due to the sensitivity of student data, we make access codes available only to principals and select district officials, who bear legal responsibility for determining who at their schools has access to the data. Please check with your principal to retrieve this code. If your school or district's access code is lost or missing, a new code will be resent through the mail. Contact the College Board customer support center at 212 713-8066 to arrange for the code to be sent.

Do I need any special hardware or software to use AP Potential?

No. AP Potential is housed on the College Board's Web site, so all you need is Internet access, a College Board professional account, and your access code. Because some information appears in pop-up windows, make sure to disable any pop-up blockers you have installed.

The College Board recommends using one of the following browsers for this site:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
Netscape 7
America Online 7.0

If you do not have a compatible version of one of these browsers, the screens will not display properly. To upgrade your browser, go to one of the sites listed below:

Internet Explorer: http://www.microsoft.com/
Netscape: http://www.netscape.com/
America Online: http://www.aol.com/

I am having difficulty using the export feature on the student roster page.

Please follow the steps below to ensure the file is opened correctly using Microsoft Excel:

For PC Users: Right-click on the link "Export Data" and select "Save Target As." For MAC Users: Hold down the Ctrl key and click on "Export Data." Click "Save Target As." (Note: Depending on the browser you are using, the language for "Save Target As" will differ slightly.)
For PC and MAC Users: A window entitled "Save As" should appear with the file name "AP_Roster." Type ".xls" at the end of "AP_Roster" ("AP_Roster.xls") to ensure the file will be saved as an MS Excel file. Find a folder or location where you would like to save the student roster and click on the "Save" button.
For PC and MAC Users: Go to the folder/location where you saved the student roster and open the file. The file should open using Microsoft Excel.

Student-level Data

I can't find one of my students in AP Potential.

AP Potential uses data collected from the 2007 PSAT/NMSQT administration. Only those students who took the 2007 PSAT/NMSQT will appear in AP Potential. There are a number of reasons why a student may not appear in AP Potential:

If the student didn't grid his/her grade level properly, he/she may not appear in the grade-specific roster you generate. Try generating a roster that includes "All" students.
If your school's score reports were significantly delayed for any reason, there is a chance that the data was not available to load into the system.

My student appears to be in the wrong grade level or has the wrong date of birth. Can that be changed?

Once a student's data is entered into AP Potential, it cannot be changed. We encourage schools to ensure students grid their grade-level and date of birth accurately when they fill out their answer sheets.

Can I access the AP Potential data from the 2006 PSAT/NMSQT administration?

No. Every year the student data in the system is replaced by new data. In order to maintain historical/trend data, we encourage you to export your rosters into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets each year. Use the Export Data feature on the Student Roster page.

AP Potential Research

Where can I find the research reports on which AP Potential is based?

For more information, download the 2006 Research Report (.pdf/1.5M).

For which AP subjects can AP Potential generate rosters of students?

The 2006 study establishing correlations between AP Exam grades and PSAT/NMSQT performance found high correlations for the following AP Exams: Art History, Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Comparative Government & Politics, Computer Science A, Computer Science AB, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, European History, French Literature, Human Geography, Latin Literature, Latin: Vergil, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Music Theory, Physics B, Physics C: Mechanics, Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism, Psychology, Spanish Literature, Statistics, U.S. Government & Politics, U.S. History, and World History.

For which AP subjects does AP Potential NOT provide rosters and why?

AP Potential does not generate rosters for the foreign language courses (French, German, Spanish) and Studio Art. Research shows PSAT/NMSQT scores are not strong indicators of performance on these AP Exams. It is very probable that the correlations based on the total sample of students completing AP foreign language exams are low because a substantial proportion of these students may be native speakers. This effect would reduce the strength of the correlation between the language exams and the PSAT/NMSQT, which measures, among other things, developed verbal reasoning and writing skills.