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 · PHYS · MCAS

PHYS 3510

Contemporary Electronics Laboratory · 1 instructor on record · 1 section

What the course score is made of
80BC evaluations1 record · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021
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
87thMore challenging than 87% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
97BC — “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
78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
60BC — “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
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallenge
Brian ZhouAssociate Professor of Physics · Physics Provisional801 record78th87th

There is no ranking to read here: Brian Zhou is the only instructor with evaluation records for PHYS 3510, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 1 record, which is thin — read it as provisional.

Also taught by Brian Zhou

2 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
PHYS 4200Electricity and Magnetism25 records80
PHYS 8761Solid State Physics I35 records88

Other PHYS classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
PHYS 2051Introductory Physics Laboratory II34109 records58
PHYS 2050Introductory Physics Laboratory I3796 records59
PHYS 2101Introduction to Physics II (Calculus)1343 records66
PHYS 2100Introduction to Physics I (Calculus)1134 records67
PHYS 2200Introductory Physics I (Calculus)59 records71
PHYS 1100Structure of the Universe I37 records68

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.
839th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9028th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8717th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
804th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9363rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8314th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9033rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8725th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8728th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8725th 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.
9787th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9780th 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

1 section · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Brian ZhouFall 202101808060

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.