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 · EESC · MCAS

EESC 1150

Astronomy · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

What the course score is made of
73BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – 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
31stMore challenging than 31% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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
25thMore work than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
40BC — “Workload”4 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.

Astronomical observations and theories date back to the beginning of recorded history. The development of astronomy is closely tied to the growth of physics, mathematics, philosophy, and theology. Emphasis is on large-scale concepts and on how we know what we know about the stars, our galaxy, and the universe. The course covers these discoveries and ideas from the earliest days of astronomy to many of the recent, exciting advances.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
Thomas KucharEarth and Environmental Sciences794 records25th31st729 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Thomas Kuchar is the only instructor with evaluation records for EESC 1150, 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 Thomas Kuchar

1 other class
ClassInstructorsCourse score
EESC 1177Cosmos14 records75

Other EESC classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
EESC 1720Crisis and Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change532 records74
EESC 2201Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint516 records72
EESC 1717Making the Modern World: Design, Ethics, and Engineering315 records82
EESC 1507Powering America: The Past and Future of Energy, Technology, and the Environment314 records80
EESC 1146Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth113 records77
EESC 1180The Living Earth I313 records67

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8615th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8715th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
839th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8817th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8937th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8831st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
772nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8518th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8731st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
765th 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.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8731st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8520th 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

4 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Thomas KucharFall 202501777240
Thomas KucharFall 202401807440
Thomas KucharFall 202301787240
Thomas KucharFall 202201817340

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.