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 · PSYC · MCAS

PSYC 5560

Advanced Topics in Developmental Psychology · 1 instructor on record · 1 section

What the course score is made of
90BC evaluations1 record · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022
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
90thMore challenging than 90% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
98BC — “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.

This seminar explores major theories and issues in cognitive developmental psychology. Students gain a historical understanding of the emergence of developmental psychology as a field, become familiar with Piagetian theory, and explore more recent theories and findings in the aftermath of Piaget. For graduate students and advanced undergraduates.

The only instructor on record

1 section · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
Sara CordesProfessor · Psychology and Neuroscience Provisional951 record78th90th4812 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Sara Cordes is the only instructor with evaluation records for PSYC 5560, 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 Sara Cordes

2 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
PSYC 2260Child Developmental Psychology613 records77
PSYC 3368Infancy12 records93

Other PSYC classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
PSYC 1120Introduction to Behavioral Statistics and Research I646 records68
PSYC 1110Brain, Mind, & Behavior628 records76
PSYC 1111Self, Mind, & Society628 records83
PSYC 2234Introduction to Psychopathology414 records91
PSYC 2260Child Developmental Psychology613 records77
PSYC 2285Behavioral Neuroscience313 records86

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.
9880th 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.
9562nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9876th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9887th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9888th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
100100th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9889th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9784th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9466th 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.
9890th 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

1 section · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Sara CordesSpring 202201959060

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.