Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · Fall 2021 through Spring 2026, ranked class by class

How this list is ordered

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 · MUSP · MCAS

MUSP 2810

The University Chorale of Boston College · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

How the curve score is built
86Teaching94 raw · 79th percentile of BC classes
+2Easiness adjustmenteasiness 83 · 45 raw workload · lighter than 71% of BC classes
88Curve scorethe teaching curve +2 for the workload · at most ±6 either way

Boston College's ratings are bunched at the top — the median instructor averages about 88 out of 100 on the raw scale, and 44% of them clear 90 — so a raw score cannot separate anybody. Every figure here is ranked against BC classes and that rank is re-expressed out of 100, which is what turns a raw 88 — the middle of the university — into a figure that says where somebody actually stands. On this scale 77 is the median, 84 the top quarter and 91 the top tenth. Workload is then an adjustment on top of that, worth nothing at all for an ordinary one. Lighter work than 71% of BC classes.

What the course score is made of
94BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2024 – Spring 2026
—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

The class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it — who taught it is the board below.

How is this worked out?

That is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between: the board carries each instructor's own score for this class, and the score above is the class averaged across all of them.

What the challenge rank is made of
19thMore challenging than 19% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
85BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question. It is not a measure of difficulty, grading or workload.

How is this worked out?

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
29thMore work than 29% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
45BC — “Workload”4 records · raw score out of 100

One of Boston College's five workload bands, not a number of hours. Higher means more work, not worse.

How is this worked out?

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 University Chorale of Boston College comprises 90-120 singers and performs four programs per semester, including Pops on the Heights and Christmas on the Heights. Members can join the annual performance tour during spring break. The Chorale explores repertoire from all over the world and all stylistic periods, medieval to modern, and works both a cappella and with orchestral accompaniment. Membership is by audition and open to students, faculty and staff. For audition information, see the Music Department website or choralebc.com.Auditions, which will consist of vocal exercises and a song excerpt, will happen during the first two weeks of classes each semester.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorCurveEasinessChallenge
Riikka Pietilainen-CaffreyAssociate Professor of the Practice, Director of Choral and Vocal Performance · Music9196 raw · 4 records82+1 to the score19th

There is no ranking to read here: Riikka Pietilainen-Caffrey is the only instructor with evaluation records for MUSP 2810, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Riikka Pietilainen-Caffrey

6 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
MUSA 1100Fundamentals of Music Theory1087 records82
MUSP 1920Individual Lessons: Voice38 records95
MUSP 1930Individual Lessons36 records97
MUSP 2855Chamber Singers26 records95
MUSP 1900Individual Lessons: Voice34 records90
MUSP 1925Individual Lessons: Voice34 records97

Other MUSP classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
MUSP 2820Chamber Music Ensembles420 records93
MUSP 1660Middle East Astaza! Music Ensemble314 records96
MUSP 1670Waaw Waaw Sabar: BC West African Music Ensemble214 records95
MUSP 2750Musical Theater Cabaret214 records90
MUSP 1760Introduction to Improvisation18 records90
MUSP 1770Gospel Music Workshop28 records96

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records
Instructor4
Course3
Feedback3
Workload & Challengenot ratings

Bars are ranks, not raw scores. Nothing here is graded good or bad.

What each item asks
Explains Clearly
The instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
Available
The instructor was available for help outside of class.
Motivating
The instructor motivated me to do my best work.
Sparks Interest
The course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
Organized
The course was well organized.
Clear Goals
The learning objectives for the course were clear.
Useful Later
What I learned is applicable beyond this course.
Assignments
Assignments and exams contributed to my learning.
Fast Feedback
I received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
Useful Feedback
The feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
Workload
How 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.
Challenge
The course was intellectually challenging.
Attendance
Attending class was necessary to do well in this course.
Why these numbers are curved

Both the number and the bar are the rank against every comparable record we hold, printed back out of 100. BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so on the raw scale every cell here would read in the high eighties and every bar would be nearly full — thirteen numbers that tell you nothing. Each cell prints its raw BC figure and its percentile underneath, so nothing is hidden by the transform. 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
Riikka Pietilainen-CaffreySpring 202601989640
Riikka Pietilainen-CaffreyFall 202501989560
Riikka Pietilainen-CaffreySpring 202501959340
Riikka Pietilainen-CaffreyFall 202401939140
How to read this board

Instructors 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.