What Do Great Principals Do to Increase Enrollment in AP Courses AND Increase the Percentage of Students Scoring 3 or Better?

by Michael Keany

August 21, 2026

Increasing Advanced Placement enrollment is relatively easy if a school simply lowers entrance barriers. Increasing AP scores can also be accomplished—at least superficially—by restricting enrollment to only the strongest students.

The real leadership challenge is doing both: getting substantially more students into AP classrooms while simultaneously increasing the percentage earning a 3, 4, or 5.

Great principals recognize that these goals are not contradictory. Access without support is an invitation to struggle; selectivity without access leaves capable students on the sidelines. The best AP programs deliberately pursue access and achievement together.

1. They Find the Students Who Aren’t Finding AP

Great principals don’t wait for students to volunteer.

They examine PSAT/SAT results, grades, prior achievement, teacher recommendations, interests, and other evidence to identify students capable of succeeding in advanced coursework—particularly students who have never viewed themselves as “AP students.”

College Board’s AP Potential uses SAT Suite performance to identify students likely to earn a 3 or higher on particular AP exams. Importantly, College Board recommends using it alongside grades, motivation, and teacher recommendations—not as a mechanism for excluding motivated students. (AP Potential⁠)

Then principals personally recruit.

Imagine receiving this message as a tenth grader:

“We’ve looked at your work, and we believe you’re ready for AP. We’d like you to take the challenge.”

That invitation can change a student’s academic trajectory.

2. They Remove Artificial Gatekeepers

Requirements such as an A in the previous course, multiple teacher recommendations, complicated applications, or prerequisite honors courses can unintentionally exclude capable students.

Great principals examine every AP prerequisite and ask:

“Is this requirement actually necessary for success—or is this simply how we’ve always done it?”

College Board identifies screening and tracking practices, insufficient sections, and inadequate preparation among barriers that can limit AP participation even when courses technically exist. (AP Central⁠)

Open the doors—but don’t stop there

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3. They Build the Pipeline Before AP

If students arrive in eleventh grade unprepared for AP-level reading, writing, mathematics, and independent learning, expanding enrollment alone won’t solve the problem.

Great principals work backward.

What skills does AP U.S. History require? Begin developing them in grades 8, 9, and 10. What mathematical reasoning predicts success in AP Calculus? Strengthen that progression years earlier.

A great AP program isn’t created in AP classrooms. It is created by the curriculum leading to them.

4. They Put Great Teachers in AP—and Develop More of Them

AP shouldn’t become an exclusive club for teachers either.

Principals provide AP teachers with professional development, collaborative planning time, assessment data, and opportunities to examine student work together.

They also study results by teacher, course, question type, and student subgroup.

The question isn’t, “Whose scores are bad?”

It is:

“Where are students struggling, and what do we need to change instructionally?”

5. They Provide Support Without Lowering the Standard

New AP students may initially need more scaffolding than students traditionally enrolled in advanced courses.

Provide tutoring. Establish study groups. Use AP Classroom resources. Offer Saturday or after-school review sessions. Teach students explicitly how to study, manage complex reading, write analytical responses, and prepare for cumulative examinations. College Board highlights supplemental student support as an important strategy for helping students build confidence and succeed in AP. (AP Central⁠)

The principle is simple:

Don’t lower the bar. Build better ladders.

6. They Measure Two Numbers—Every Year

Great principals refuse to celebrate either participation or test scores in isolation.

Their AP dashboard includes:

Percentage of eligible students enrolled in AP
Percentage of AP students taking the exam
Percentage earning 3+
Enrollment and 3+ rates by student subgroup
Performance by course
Students with demonstrated AP potential who aren’t enrolled

This last group may be especially revealing. AP Potential can generate rosters specifically identifying students likely to score 3 or higher and can help schools determine where additional AP sections or courses may be warranted. (AP Potential⁠)

Access + Excellence

The strongest principals reject the false choice between equity and excellence.

They tell students:

“AP is for you—and we’re going to help you succeed.”

They tell teachers:

“We’re going to bring more students through your door—and give you the support to teach them successfully.”

And they tell the community:

“We will judge ourselves not by how many students enter AP classrooms, nor simply by how many pass AP exams, but by how many students we help accomplish both.”

That is the difference between expanding an AP program and building a culture of academic excellence.

References

1. College Board. AP Potential: A Free Web-Based Tool. AP Central. AP Potential identifies students likely to earn 3 or higher and supports schools in expanding AP access. (AP Central⁠)
2. Fletcher, K., Wyatt, J., & Ewing, M. (2025). Updates to AP Potential Expectancy Tables. College Board. The research reports that SAT Suite scores are strong predictors of AP performance and describes evidence connecting personalized AP Potential messages with increased AP participation and success. (AP Potential⁠)
3. College Board. AP National and State Data. AP Central. College Board identifies course capacity, screening and tracking practices, and inadequate preparation among barriers to AP participation. (AP Central⁠)

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   Prepared with the assistance of AI software

   OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (5.2) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com