Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · Fall 2021 through Spring 2026, ranked class by class

How this list is ordered

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 · CSCI · MCAS

CSCI 3387

Topics in Computational intelligence: Machine Learning Projects · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections

How the curve score is built
53Teaching60 raw · 1st percentile of BC classes
−2Easiness adjustmenteasiness 67 · 65 raw workload · lighter than 19% of BC classes
51Curve scorethe teaching curve −2 for the workload · at most ±6 either way

Boston College's ratings are bunched at the top — the median instructor averages about 88 out of 100 on the raw scale, and 44% of them clear 90 — so a raw score cannot separate anybody. Every figure here is ranked against BC classes and that rank is re-expressed out of 100, which is what turns a raw 88 — the middle of the university — into a figure that says where somebody actually stands. On this scale 77 is the median, 84 the top quarter and 91 the top tenth. Workload is then an adjustment on top of that, worth nothing at all for an ordinary one. Lighter work than 19% of BC classes.

What the course score is made of
60BC evaluations5 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2023 – Spring 2026
—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

The class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it — who taught it is the board below.

How is this worked out?

That is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between: the board carries each instructor's own score for this class, and the score above is the class averaged across all of them.

What the challenge rank is made of
57thMore challenging than 57% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
92BC — “Intellectually Challenging”5 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question. It is not a measure of difficulty, grading or workload.

How is this worked out?

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
81stMore work than 81% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
65BC — “Workload”5 records · raw score out of 100

One of Boston College's five workload bands, not a number of hours. Higher means more work, not worse.

How is this worked out?

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.

In this project based class, we will introduce several machine learning concepts, and illustrate and practice their use. These topics will, tentatively, include: classification, data processing, dimensionality reduction, model evaluation and tuning, ensemble learning, regression, clustering, multi layer artificial neural networks and their use for classification, regression, generative adversarial networks, and reinforcement learning.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorCurveEasinessChallenge
Jose Bento Ayres PereiraComputer Science5259 raw · 5 records66−3 to the score57th

There is no ranking to read here: Jose Bento Ayres Pereira is the only instructor with evaluation records for CSCI 3387, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Jose Bento Ayres Pereira

3 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
CSCI 2244Randomness and Computation819 records68
CSCI 3383Algorithms618 records70
CSCI 3398Topics in Parallel Computing11 record60

Other CSCI classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
CSCI 1101Computer Science I11180 records72
CSCI 1102Computer Science II8105 records68
CSCI 2272Computer Organization and Lab357 records75
CSCI 2271Computer Systems423 records60
CSCI 2243Logic and Computation521 records71
CSCI 2244Randomness and Computation819 records68

The line

All 13 items · means across 5 records
Instructor4
Course3
Feedback3
Workload & Challengenot ratings

Bars are ranks, not raw scores. Nothing here is graded good or bad.

What each item asks
Explains Clearly
The instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
Available
The instructor was available for help outside of class.
Motivating
The instructor motivated me to do my best work.
Sparks Interest
The course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
Organized
The course was well organized.
Clear Goals
The learning objectives for the course were clear.
Useful Later
What I learned is applicable beyond this course.
Assignments
Assignments and exams contributed to my learning.
Fast Feedback
I received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
Useful Feedback
The feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
Workload
How 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.
Challenge
The course was intellectually challenging.
Attendance
Attending class was necessary to do well in this course.
Why these numbers are curved

Both the number and the bar are the rank against every comparable record we hold, printed back out of 100. BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so on the raw scale every cell here would read in the high eighties and every bar would be nearly full — thirteen numbers that tell you nothing. Each cell prints its raw BC figure and its percentile underneath, so nothing is hidden by the transform. 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

5 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Jose Bento Ayres PereiraSpring 202601495360
Jose Bento Ayres PereiraSpring 202501747480
Jose Bento Ayres PereiraFall 2024016763—
Jose Bento Ayres PereiraSpring 202401515460
Jose Bento Ayres PereiraSpring 202301545460
How to read this board

Instructors 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.