Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Positions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted.

Class record · BIOL · MCAS

BIOL 4110

Ornithology · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections

What the course score is made of
92BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2026
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of
42ndMore challenging than 42% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
89BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of
43rdMore work than 43% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
53BC — “Workload”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

The only instructor on record

3 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
Jeffrey DacostaAssociate Professor of the Practice · Biology953 records43rd42nd7026 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Jeffrey Dacosta is the only instructor with evaluation records for BIOL 4110, so the number is a record, not a position. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Jeffrey Dacosta

6 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
BIOL 2010Ecology and Evolution222 records79
BIOL 2300Biostatistics317 records83
BIOL 2050Gateway Biology Discussion I211 records83
BIOL 4802Research in Evolutionary Genomics13 records96
BIOL 4075Research in Molecular Phylogenetics12 records92
BIOL 4450Behavioral Ecology12 records92

Other BIOL classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
BIOL 2040Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology Lab2176 records87
BIOL 1310Anatomy and Physiology Lab 1443 records78
BIOL 1330Anatomy and Physiology Lab 2443 records76
BIOL 2210Microbiology for Health Professionals Laboratory341 records84
BIOL 4260Human Anatomy with Lab135 records86
BIOL 4330Human Physiology128 records85

The line

All 13 items · means across 3 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9773rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9774th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9671st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9876th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9782nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9678th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9245th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9153rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9467th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9462nd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
5343rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8942nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8832nd pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

3 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Jeffrey DacostaSpring 202601969360
Jeffrey DacostaSpring 202401949260
Jeffrey DacostaSpring 202201949140

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.