Student Datafile

The Student Datafile contains score report data for each AP student at your school or district who tested during the selected exam administration. This is not a report that can be viewed on your browser; rather, it is a CSV file that can be downloaded for use in other systems or applications. This file is available for the five most recent exam administrations.

Student Datafile Layout

To guide you in understanding and processing the data in the file, review the following resource:

• 2024 AP Student Datafile Layout (Effective July 2024)
• 2023 AP Student Datafile Layout

Downloading and Opening

The following steps will guide you through the process of downloading the Student Datafile to your computer and opening it in MS Excel.

Part 1: Downloading the File

1. From your Reports home page on the AP Score Reports for Educators website, click the Student Datafile report name under your Roster and Student Reports.
2. A dialog box will pop up, prompting you to download the file. Click Export Report. A new tab will open.
   • If your organization has a large number of students, the datafile may take some time to load. During this time the new tab will remain open as your file is being generated. Do not close this tab or request another export while this is loading.
   • If you do not see the dialog box, make sure pop-up blockers are disabled on your browser.
   • Note that some browsers such as Chrome and Firefox will automatically save to a folder you have designated previously. Check your browser settings to ensure the file will be saved to your preferred location.
   • If you are using Safari on a Mac, note that your file may open as text in the browser window. Enter Command + S or select File > Save As. This opens up the export dialog. Change the format from Web Archive to Page Source and click on Save.
3. Based on your browser settings you may be prompted to select the location on your computer where you would like to save the file.
4. You may choose to rename your file if you wish, but make sure the .csv extension remains.
5. Below the file name box, click the Save As Type drop-down box and select All Files.
6. Click Save.

Tip: We do not recommend using Internet Explorer 11 or a prior version as support for these versions are being phased out by Microsoft®.

Part 2: Opening the Downloaded File in Microsoft Excel

The instructions below are for these Excel versions: Excel for Office 365, Excel 2019, Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2010 and Excel 2007. This process may vary for other versions of Excel.

Method 1 (Recommended): Open Import Text Wizard

For the most flexibility in converting columns to different data formats, use the Import Text Wizard in Excel. This allows leading zeros to be preserved in your data. It also allows you to define the format of the data that may deviate from Excel’s default format. For example, date columns in the student datafile are MDY, but Excel’s default data format is YMD.

1. Change the file name extension on your downloaded file from .csv to .txt before you open it in Excel.
2. Open Excel on your computer and open your .txt file. The Import Text Wizard will run and will walk you through this process.
3. Under Original Data Type, select the file type as Delimited and click Next.
4. Under Delimiters, change the selection to Comma (Tab is the default and should be unchecked). Leave all the other options on this window as is and click Next.
5. Under Data Preview, select all the columns. You can do this by holding the shift key down, dragging the slider all the way to the end, and selecting the last column. All columns and rows should then be darkened.
6. Under Column Data Format, change the selection from General to Text. You can also select individual columns from the Data Preview section and change the format. For any date fields such as the Date of Birth column, you can individually select this column and change to date format MDY.
7. Click Finish to view the Excel file.
8. You should now be viewing your student datafile with the data divided into columns and rows.
9. To retain this formatting choose to Save As an Excel worksheet.

Note: Opening the file directly in Excel without changing the file extension to .txt is not recommended. When Excel opens a .csv file directly, it uses the current default data format settings to interpret how to interpret each column of data. Excel also does not change the format of the file—the name of the file retains the text file name extension (.csv). To have more flexibility in converting columns to different data formats, use the method above.

Method 2: Import as External Data

Important: With this method, Excel may not convert some of the data to the right format and may drop leading zeros from number fields. For example, the date column in the Student Datafile is MDY, but Excel’s default data format is YMD.

1. Open Excel and import the.csv file you just downloaded by going to the Data menu and then selecting the From Text/CSV option.
2. The Import Data dialog box will open; navigate to the directory where you saved the file and select the file. Then click the Import option.
3. A screen will appear showing a preview of the file, with data formatted in separate columns. Excel will automatically detect the delimeter and data type based on the contents of the file. Click Load.
4. You should now be viewing your student datafile with the data divided into columns and rows.
5. To retain this formatting choose to Save As an Excel worksheet.