Class record · POLI · MCAS

POLI 3340

Sem: Democracy and Our Schools · 1 instructor on record · 2 sections

What the course score is made of

94BC evaluations2 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2024 – 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

87thMore challenging than 87% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

97BC — “Intellectually Challenging”2 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

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”2 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 seminar is restricted to juniors and seniors only.. This course examines K-12 education policy through the lens of American politics. On the one hand, schools influence American democracy by cultivating norms of civic and political engagement among youth. Yet public schools are also agencies of government, which means that education policy is established through democratic political processes. This interplay between democracy and education raises fundamental questions about the consequences of living in a nation that relies on elected officials to govern its schools. We begin by examining contestation over the very purposes of public education. We then assess the formal institutions, groups, and ideas that shape education policymaking. Along the way we will be guided by questions such as: Does democracy compromise educational equity? How much say should the public have in determining education policy? Should schools be organized primarily by politics or by markets?

The only instructor on record

2 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Michael HartneyAssociate Professor · Political Science Provisional	972 records	78th	87th	885 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Michael Hartney is the only instructor with evaluation records for POLI 3340, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 2 records, 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 Michael Hartney

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 1061Introduction to American Politics	58 records	77
POLI 4933Honors Seminar	33 records	74
POLI 2338Environmental Politics and Policy	11 record	93
POLI 2339State and Local Government	11 record	91
POLI 4395Interest Groups in American Politics	11 record	82
POLI 4396Sem: American Subnational Politics	11 record	95

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 2 records

The Professor4 items

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

9672nd pctl

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

9881st pctl

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

9565th pctl

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

9666th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9887th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9255th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9989th 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.

9044th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9250th 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.

100100th 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

2 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Michael Hartney	Fall 2025	01	93	93	60
Michael Hartney	Fall 2024	01	100	94	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.