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 · MATH · MCAS

MATH 4410

Differential Equations · 7 instructors on record · 20 sections

What the course score is made of
75BC evaluations20 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
49thMore challenging than 49% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
90BC — “Intellectually Challenging”20 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
48thMore work than 48% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
59BC — “Workload”20 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 is a junior-senior elective intended primarily for the general student who is interested in seeing applications of mathematics. Among the topics covered will be the following: first order linear equations, higher order linear equations with constant coefficients, linear systems, qualitative analysis of non-linear systems, and an introduction to stability and bifurcations.

The board

7 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 3

Scores are real averages. The order also accounts for how many records back each one — the count is under every score — so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them.

RankInstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
1Tao LiProfessor · Mathematics Provisional872 records78th49th445 ratings · all classes
2Nicolas PetitMathematics Provisional822 records78th42nd5619 ratings · all classes
3Qile ChenProfessor · Mathematics794 records78th66th964 ratings · all classes
4Dawei ChenProfessor · Mathematics Provisional792 records78th58th604 ratings · all classes
5Xin JinAssociate Professor · Mathematics764 records78th60th403 ratings · all classes
6Maksym FedorchukProfessor · Mathematics Provisional722 records78th70th946 ratings · all classes
7David TreumannProfessor · Mathematics644 records45th23rd866 ratings · all classes

How this board is orderedPositions 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. The comparison here is the class itself: a thin record is read against how this class was rated overall, not against the university.

Every instructor with an evaluation record for this class is on this board — it is not a top ten, and nothing is hidden behind a “show more”. Overall is the instructor's blended score for THIS class only, and its one contributing source is Boston College's evaluations for the sections in the row's record count — nothing on this board is an average across the other things they teach. Workload and Challenge are RANKS against every class we hold, not scores: BC's questions all sit near the top of the 1-5 scale, so a raw number would put almost every row in the high eighties and tell you nothing. Challenge is BC's “intellectually challenging” item, which students answer positively about courses that stretched them — it is not a measure of difficulty or grading. Neither column is ever marked better or worse. 4 of 7 rows are marked provisional: fewer than 3 records stand behind the number. That is thin evidence, not a bad instructor — the record count is in every row. The RateMyProfessors column is an instructor's overall figure across everything they teach; that site has no course dimension, so it is shown for information and kept out of the ranking.

The line

All 13 items · means across 20 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
828th 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.
838th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
825th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8418th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8520th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8411th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9040th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8625th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8416th 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.
5948th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9049th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8213th 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

20 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
David TreumannSpring 202601666260
David TreumannSpring 202602657160
Maksym FedorchukFall 202501656660
Maksym FedorchukFall 202502797660
David TreumannSpring 202501636760
David TreumannSpring 202502646740
Qile ChenFall 202401808060
Qile ChenFall 202402858460
Xin JinSpring 202401626360
Xin JinSpring 202402687160
Qile ChenFall 2023018079
Qile ChenFall 2023027171
Nicolas PetitSpring 2023018176
Nicolas PetitSpring 202302827960
Dawei ChenFall 202201777260
Dawei ChenFall 202202807460
Tao LiSpring 202201857560
Tao LiSpring 2022028987
Xin JinFall 202101948960
Xin JinFall 202102798560

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.