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 · ECON · MCAS

ECON 8825

Econometric Methods for Causal Inference · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections

What the course score is made of
98BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2023 – Fall 2025
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
100thMore challenging than 100% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
100BC — “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
93rdMore work than 93% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
80BC — “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.

This course covers a modern approach to the estimation of causal treatment effects. Topics covered include the estimation of treatment effects under unconfoundedness, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and a range of panel data methods (diff-in-diff, synthetic controls, fixed effects). We also discuss nonparametric estimation techniques, including kernel regression and machine learning methods, focussing on how these can be incorporated into treatment effect estimators.

The only instructor on record

3 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
David HughesAssistant Professor · Economics983 records93rd100th863 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: David Hughes is the only instructor with evaluation records for ECON 8825, 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 David Hughes

1 other class
ClassInstructorsCourse score
ECON 2228Econometric Methods33131 records71

Other ECON classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
ECON 1101Principles of Economics46223 records73
ECON 2228Econometric Methods33131 records71
ECON 1151Statistics2797 records72
ECON 2202Macroeconomic Theory2072 records69
ECON 2201Microeconomic Theory1967 records71
ECON 9900Third Year Thesis Workshop1440 records91

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.
100100th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9988th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9988th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
100100th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
100100th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
100100th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
100100th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8939th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8938th 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.
8093rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
100100th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9990th 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
David HughesFall 20250110010060
David HughesFall 202401100100100
David HughesFall 2023019393

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.