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 · ENGL · MCAS

ENGL 8802

Joyce's <i>Ulysses</i> · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections

What the course score is made of
98BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – 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
93rdMore challenging than 93% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
99BC — “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
85thMore work than 85% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
70BC — “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
Marjorie HowesProfessor, English and Irish Studies · English993 records85th93rd787 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Marjorie Howes is the only instructor with evaluation records for ENGL 8802, 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 Marjorie Howes

6 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
ENGL 1080Literature Core90257 records80
ENGL 2131Studies in Poetry1333 records84
ENGL 4023Twentieth Century Irish Women Writers12 records91
ENGL 4907Irish Gothic11 record84
ENGL 6308Seminar: Yeats: Work, Thoughts, Contexts11 record98
ENGL 6647Irish Gothic11 record91

Other ENGL classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
ENGL 1010First Year Writing Seminar136442 records80
ENGL 1080Literature Core90257 records80
ENGL 1079Literature Core for Multilingual Students1340 records89
ENGL 2221Introduction to Creative Writing936 records90
ENGL 2133Studies in Narrative1634 records87
ENGL 2131Studies in Poetry1333 records84

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.
9988th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9884th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9883rd 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.
9992nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9781st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9993rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9887th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9782nd 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.
7085th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9993rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9675th 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
Marjorie HowesSpring 20260110010080
Marjorie HowesFall 2023019895
Marjorie HowesFall 2021019810060

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.