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Course: AP®︎/College US History > Unit 1
Lesson 1: Thinking like a historianMeet Kim, one of the creators of Khan Academy's AP US History lessons
Kim earned her PhD in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and taught US history at the college level for eight years. She has graded the AP US History exam in the past and is currently hard at work creating videos and exercises to help students master US history!
Want to join the conversation?
I am only 10. Is it possible for me to take an AP US History test after I've studied the content and reviewed the material? I have already taken a test that shows that I am at a 9th Grade level in Math, Reading, English, and Science. I would like to try something new like US History, for example. Is it possible?(26 votes)
Yes. Although AP courses are designed specifically for high-schoolers (eg not you), it is totally possible for a middle-schooler to take an AP Exam, assuming you can find a high-school that offers the exam, so that you can use their proctors. There's no reason you can't do well on it, assuming you put in enough effort.(18 votes)
I am currently being homeschooled and using this course and its curriculum. Is it possible for me to take the AP exam?(14 votes)
From the author:Yes! But you'll have to take next year's exam, I'm afraid -- this year's took place a few weeks ago, on May 11.
I would also enlist the help of a friend or teacher to read your writing so that you can practice the free response sections of the exam. You can find released free response questions on the College Board's AP Central website, which will give you a sense of how the essays are scored. I talk through the process of thinking about the free response questions here: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/general-ap-us-history-skills-and-test-strategies#apush-examples
But you really should practice doing the writing sections a few times before going into the exam so you feel comfortable with the format and know about how long it takes you to write each essay.
Good luck!(8 votes)
I know that the AP U.S. History course here on Khan Academy is supposed to be taken as a supplementary for this course that is taken in school or online. Are there any recommend websites that I can take AP U.S. History online?(8 votes)- Is there a plan to complete the questions and unit test for the remaining periods, since they currently stop after period 3?(4 votes)
- Am i wrong but does the questions stop at period 3 are there going to be more practice questions and unit tests added for AP USH(4 votes)
AP US History is a two-year course for me in my school. I cover from Periods 1-6 in 9th grade and the remaining Periods in 10th grade. I am currently in the summer of 9th grade and I want to review the first six periods before taking my second year of APUSH. To prepare, should I be reviewing my textbook again and rereading everything I've covered in my textbook, or does Khan Academy's videos cover everything I've studied in my textbook to the same level of depth? In other words, will studying these videos alone serve as an accurate and in-depth review of what my textbook in school covers, or should I reread the textbook just in case?(2 votes)
Hello! I’ve just finished taking AP US History (for context, I self-studied during 12th grade). While Khan Academy videos are excellent for broad review in the weeks immediately leading up to the test to refresh your memory, your textbook may go into more or less detail on certain topics (e.g. it is unlikely that you need to study much extra military history at all). I would definitely reread your school’s textbooks and possibly get another review resource if it is accessible to you— you will likely get a higher essay score if you can recall specific historical incidents, and the more of them you can remember, the better. This is a tough exam, and especially considering the fact that you will have worked two years towards it it’s worth taking the extra time for a better score!(4 votes)
Will this count toward my Ap credit?(2 votes)- This will help you study the courses, but Khan Academy will not give you any credits.(3 votes)
- As an eigth grade student with according to tests over a 140iq and horrible spelling, I am so happy to know that Khan Academy allows me to get ahead while the school system holds back.(1 vote)
- Why would you say over 140 iq instead of just the actual number 🤔
Wondering this because 140 IQ is sometimes considered a borderline number between smart and really smart so it seems a bit sketchy that you chose to say you were above this borderline rather than just saying your actual IQ amount(4 votes)
- I'm international student from Japan and I would like to take APUSH exam.
what should I study for taking high scores in the test?(2 votes)- Do the course on Khan Academy and study using review books. If you're really serious about getting a good score I suggest you take an online course. Here are two.
http://www.aphomeschoolers.com/cgi-bin/choose.pl?class=amgovt
http://www.aphomeschoolers.com/cgi-bin/choose.pl?class=usgovt(2 votes)
- Are the questions linked to each unit similar in difficulty to the APUSH test questions?(2 votes)
- They are probably similar to the MC section, but not the FRQ's.(2 votes)
Video transcript
- I have been working on
the US history content here for more than two years now. And we have a team of experts who've been in the classroom for many years, who have advanced degrees in US history, who really rigorously write, tape, and edit each other's work. And I think it would be kind of, I would judge it as like
a day's worth of class. Everything that we've done
on the Khan Academy website meets the AP requirements. So teachers can feel confident that when they send their students to watch a video or read an article or practice with an
exercise on Khan Academy, that students are taking away
the key learning objectives that they should get for the AP exam. - [Instructor] It's a frequent
misconception that people in this time period thought
that the world was flat. - We really wanted to make this material approachable and fun. And so throughout, I
think, students will see a real enthusiasm for the
material and a sense of humor, so that it's not just
reading a history textbook. - [Instructor] So I've brought you here to talk about the Gilded Age, which is one of my favorite
eras of American history. - [Man] Because everything
was great and covered in gold? - It's really interacting with some of the big questions of history, and having an opportunity to
explore those with enthusiasm. - [Instructor] No,
because it is the only era of American history I can think of that has a sarcastic name. (man laughs) - Because it is fun. We hope to give students that sense that history is not a boring subject. It's really fun.