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 · CLAS · MCAS

CLAS 3382

Herodotus I · 2 instructors on record · 2 sections

What the course score is made of
89BC evaluations2 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – Fall 2024
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
81stMore challenging than 81% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
96BC — “Intellectually Challenging”2 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
BC — “Workload”2 records — does not contribute

Boston College's workload question was not reported in these records, so there is nothing to show. That is missing data, not a light class.

Father of History, Father of Lies, Herodotus marks the beginning of the Greco-Roman historiographic tradition. In this class, we will read portions of books 1 and 8 of the Histories in Greek, and sections of the rest of the work in English. Central issues will include the nature, methods, and principles of Herodotean historiography, his relationship to earlier poetic and prose traditions and to the intellectual and political climate of the fifth century BCE, and social, cultural, political issues raised by the work, and the historical events it chronicles--especially, but hardly limited to, the Persian Wars.

The board

2 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 2

Scores are real averages. The order also accounts for how many records back each one — the count is under every score — so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them.

RankInstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
1Mark ThatcherAssociate Professor of the Practice · Classical Studies Provisional921 record84th929 ratings · all classes
2Kendra EshlemanClassical Studies Provisional901 record79th1002 ratings · all classes

How this board is orderedPositions 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. The comparison here is the class itself: a thin record is read against how this class was rated overall, not against the university.

Every instructor with an evaluation record for this class is on this board — it is not a top ten, and nothing is hidden behind a “show more”. Overall is the instructor's blended score for THIS class only, and its one contributing source is Boston College's evaluations for the sections in the row's record count — nothing on this board is an average across the other things they teach. Workload and Challenge are RANKS against every class we hold, not scores: BC's questions all sit near the top of the 1-5 scale, so a raw number would put almost every row in the high eighties and tell you nothing. Challenge is BC's “intellectually challenging” item, which students answer positively about courses that stretched them — it is not a measure of difficulty or grading. Neither column is ever marked better or worse. 2 of 2 rows are marked provisional: fewer than 3 records stand behind the number. That is thin evidence, not a bad instructor — the record count is in every row. The RateMyProfessors column is an instructor's overall figure across everything they teach; that site has no course dimension, so it is shown for information and kept out of the ranking.

The line

All 13 items · means across 2 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9346th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9343rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9347th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8919th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9889th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9677th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8822nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9681st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9359th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
100100th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9681st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9462nd 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

Game log

2 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Mark ThatcherFall 2024019292
Kendra EshlemanFall 2022019085

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.