Class record · POLI · MCAS

POLI 1270

The High Price of Free Speech · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

What the course score is made of

84BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – 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

27thMore challenging than 27% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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

43rdMore work than 43% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

53BC — “Workload”4 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.

Students who previously taken POLI1270 "The Cost of Free Speech" should not take this course. This course is a non-subfield elective course for Political Science majors only.This course is class-restricted to juniors and seniors only. Graduate students are welcomed. "The High Price of Free Speech" will focus on the challenge of preserving the liberal ideal of free speech in a world where democratic governments seem paralyzed by political and cultural polarization; powerful tech companies have become reluctant censors; authoritarian regimes deploy artificial intelligence and "the internet of things" for surveillance, censorship, and propaganda; and many failing democracies and would-be authoritarian regimes seem poised to do the same. The goal is to help you situate the classic debate over free speech in both the broader historical context and the contemporary landscape.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Martha BaylesPolitical Science	854 records	43rd	27th

There is no ranking to read here: Martha Bayles is the only instructor with evaluation records for POLI 1270, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Martha Bayles

3 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 1271Do the Virtues Have Gender?	13 records	78
POLI 1273Americans, Ugly & Beautiful	12 records	94
POLI 1272Democracy and Art	11 record	67

Other POLI classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 1021How to Rule the World: Introduction to Political Theory	645 records	82
POLI 1041Fundamental Concepts of Politics	1037 records	76
POLI 2360Seminar: Rights in Conflict	923 records	84
POLI 1042Introduction to Modern Politics	519 records	83
POLI 2665The Question of Justice	919 records	80
POLI 2440A Continent on the Move: Immigration in Contemporary Europe	110 records	86

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

8924th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9240th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

8927th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

8816th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8419th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8414th 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.

9152nd pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9573rd pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9043rd 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.

5343rd pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8627th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

8728th 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

4 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Martha Bayles	Fall 2025	01	100	93	60
Martha Bayles	Fall 2024	01	72	76	40
Martha Bayles	Spring 2023	01	89	85	—
Martha Bayles	Fall 2021	01	80	80	60

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.