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 · LAWS · LAW

LAWS 4513

Constitutional History: The Framing of the Constitution · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections

What the course score is made of
97BC evaluations5 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 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
86thMore challenging than 86% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
96BC — “Intellectually Challenging”5 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
78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
60BC — “Workload”5 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 seminar will focus on the framing period of the U.S. Constitution as a political, legal, historical, cultural, intellectual, and literary process. We will consider a range of topics using primary and secondary sources, including, e.g., the idea of a constitution; the narrative of the Convention; the reliability of the sources; the various initial plans and strategies; issues of representation and slavery; the conception of the executive and judiciary; the role of committees and drafts; ratification; the process of amendment; American constitutional culture. As a 3 credit seminar, expectations include class assignments related to class reading and the writing process, and completion of a research paper on an approved topic related to an aspect of constitutional history, politics, or constitutionalism broadly conceived (e.g., history, biographical, American, global, comparative etc.). The seminar includes weekly exercises designed to support the writing of the research paper.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallenge
Mary BilderLaw1005 records78th86th

There is no ranking to read here: Mary Bilder is the only instructor with evaluation records for LAWS 4513, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Mary Bilder

2 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
LAWS 2140Property616 records79
LAWS 9922American Legal History14 records96

Other LAWS classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
LAWS 2110Critical Perspectives: Law, Context, and Professional Identity3080 records66
LAWS 8667Legal Practice Externship251 records91
LAWS 2150Law Practice 11032 records84
LAWS 2155Law Practice II1032 records83
LAWS 8130Advanced Legal Research829 records92
LAWS 2190Professional Responsibility926 records74

The line

All 13 items · means across 5 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.
10089th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
100100th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
10086th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9785th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9786th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9678th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9889th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9990th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9990th 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.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9686th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9886th 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

5 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Mary BilderFall 20250110010060
Mary BilderSpring 2025011009860
Mary BilderFall 20230110090
Mary BilderFall 2022011009860
Mary BilderSpring 20220110098

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.