If you’ve taken an AP history class, the following scenario might sound familiar:

It is a Monday evening, and you are starting to study for your Period 4 AP U.S. History test on Wednesday. You cheerfully log onto Albert.io, full of enthusiasm and confident with the historical knowledge you’ve already learned in class.

Flash forward 15 minutes, and Albert.io’s three-question-long sets on historical figures you’ve never heard of just won’t end. You get to the end of section 4.1 with a few tears shed and only a “Proficient” to your name.
Don’t worry, there are only 191 questions left.

Such is the fault of Albert.io, the AP history classes’ worst go-to study tool. While my favorite classes in high school have been AP history ones, Albert.io is far from the study tool podium. The app’s questions are certainly challenging, but they’re also never-ending. More often than not, I felt discouraged before I even started. Even when I attempted sections, the questions often centered on niche topics rather than overarching ideas, unhelpful in writing portions and not great for actual in-class MCQ tests, either.

So, who reigns supreme? Bear with me: Khan Academy.

Let’s go back to that Period 4 test. Compared to Albert’s intimidating 203 questions, Khan Academy gets it done in a scant 40. There are four questions per topic section, with a score limit needed to move on. After 2-3 of these sections, you will take a 5-question quiz, which helps you apply everything you’ve learned. Then the cycle continues until you reach a 10-question unit test on everything. And don’t get me wrong – the questions are still difficult. It’s just a comparably manageable workload.

As with every study tool, you need to keep in mind your own abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Albert.io does a great job teaching students how to take multiple-choice tests. Khan Academy does a great job teaching students U.S. history. Depending on what you’re struggling with, one may be better than the other.

One of the virtues (or, perhaps, drawbacks) of AP U.S. history is that there is always going to be another quiz, test or essay next week. Try Khan Academy, and if it doesn’t work, try something else. You can run back to Albert.io, be one of the ten watchers of the Daily AP Classroom videos, or check out the tried and true: Heimler’s History.
Remember, AP U.S. History is a hard class! Throwing Albert.io under the APUSH train just might make it a little easier.