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 · THEO · MCAS

THEO 3253

Religion and American Public Life · 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
91stMore challenging than 91% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
98BC — “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
78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
60BC — “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.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallenge
Mark MassaTheology955 records78th91st

There is no ranking to read here: Mark Massa is the only instructor with evaluation records for THEO 3253, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Mark Massa

2 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
THEO 2952U.S. Catholics: The Old Faith In A New Land13 records89
THEO 7019Classic Texts in American Theology11 record100

Other THEO classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
THEO 1402God, Self, and Society55175 records82
THEO 1091Perspectives on Western Culture II/Perspectives II41125 records86
THEO 1088Person and Social Responsibility I19120 records87
THEO 1401Engaging Catholicism43114 records78
THEO 1090Perspectives on Western Culture I/Perspectives I33107 records85
THEO 1089Person and Social Responsibility II2598 records90

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.
9882nd 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.
9778th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9770th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9575th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9570th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9885th 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.
9889th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9888th 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.
9891st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9989th 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
Mark MassaFall 202501979560
Mark MassaFall 202401959560
Mark MassaSpring 202401949560
Mark MassaSpring 202301989260
Mark MassaSpring 202201939460

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.