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 · PHIL · MCAS

PHIL 5247

Aquinas and the Classics · 1 instructor on record · 1 section

What the course score is made of
72BC evaluations1 record · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2023
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
41stMore challenging than 41% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
89BC — “Intellectually Challenging”1 record · 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”1 record · 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

1 section · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
Sarah ByersAssociate Professor · Philosophy Provisional821 record25th41st6615 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Sarah Byers is the only instructor with evaluation records for PHIL 5247, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 1 record, which is thin — read it as provisional. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Sarah Byers

6 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
PHIL 1091Perspectives on Western Culture II/Perspectives II39144 records87
PHIL 1090Perspectives on Western Culture I/Perspectives I3067 records84
PHIL 1722The Formation of Early Christian Thought: A Philosophical Examination14 records67
PHIL 4405Greek Philosophy13 records76
PHIL 6605Augustine13 records93
PHIL 5528Skepticism, Stoicism, and Neo-Platonism12 records81

Other PHIL classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
PHIL 1071Philosophy of the Person II71247 records84
PHIL 1070Philosophy of the Person I65207 records82
PHIL 1091Perspectives on Western Culture II/Perspectives II39144 records87
PHIL 1089Person and Social Responsibility II20104 records88
PHIL 1088Person and Social Responsibility I1969 records88
PHIL 1090Perspectives on Western Culture I/Perspectives I3067 records84

The line

All 13 items · means across 1 record
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.
772nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
827th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
858th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8011th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
733rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8511th pctl
Assignments & Feedback2 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8622nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
702nd 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.
8941st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9782nd 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

Game log

1 section · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Sarah ByersSpring 202301827240

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.