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 5577

Symbolic Logic · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections

What the course score is made of
94BC 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
93rdMore challenging than 93% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
99BC — “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
83rdMore work than 83% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
68BC — “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 course examines core areas in symbolic logic for the purposes of constructing and evaluating philosophical arguments.Topics covered include propositional logic, modal propositional logic, quantified predicate logic, probable logic, and traditional logic.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
Richard AtkinsPhilosophy985 records83rd93rd927 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Richard Atkins is the only instructor with evaluation records for PHIL 5577, 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 Richard Atkins

6 other classes
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
THEO 1090Perspectives on Western Culture I/Perspectives I33107 records85
PHIL 1195Puzzles and Paradoxes12 records89
PHIL 3150Inductive Logic11 record86

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 5 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9886th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9883rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9777th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9878th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9887th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9992nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8928th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9788th 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.
9887th 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.
6883rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9993rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9249th 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
Richard AtkinsFall 2025019993100
Richard AtkinsSpring 202501979160
Richard AtkinsSpring 202401999360
Richard AtkinsSpring 202301979560
Richard AtkinsSpring 202201989560

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.