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.

Instructor record · Philosophy · Spring 2022 – Summer 2024

Anna Boessenkool

Philosophy · 6 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
PHIL 107112th of 71 instructors ProvisionalPHIL 22642nd of 12 instructors ProvisionalPHIL 107019th of 65 instructors ProvisionalPHIL 12521st of 2 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
97BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Summer 2024
100RateMyProfessors5 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 100% would take again
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

Sources are averaged by how much we trust each one and by how many records sit behind it, so a handful of reviews nudges the number rather than replacing it.

What the challenge rank is made of
43rdMore challenging than 43% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”6 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question — 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. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 48 out of 100 for difficulty — that IS a difficulty measure, but it is about the person across everything they teach, not about any one class, so it is shown here rather than folded into the number above.

What the workload rank is made of
51stMore work than 51% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
52BC — “Workload”6 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload 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.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 5 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 48 out of 100. Difficulty is not a quality signal in either direction — a harder course is not a worse one.

Anyone can post there — no @bc.edu check and no enrolment check — so it is weighted alongside the evaluation data, never above it.

The line

All 13 items · means across 6 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9892nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9790th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9576th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9674th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9584th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9474th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9257th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9377th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9366th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9371st 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.
5251st pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8743rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9480th 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.

Class by class

4 classes · 6 sections

How each position is worked outPositions 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.

PHIL 1071 Philosophy of the Person IIOvr98Chal9thWork25th
On this class's board12th of 71 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1071.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202316989340
Spring 202216979140
All 13 items for PHIL 1071
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9778th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9884th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9667th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9664th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9570th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9358th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9029th 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.
9253rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9464th 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.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
819th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9357th 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.

PHIL 2264 LogicOvr97Chal60thWork25th
On this class's board2nd of 12 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 93 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 2264.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202401949140
Fall 20230110095
All 13 items for PHIL 2264
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9669th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9775th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9670th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9556th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9574th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9464th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9029th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9579th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9885th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9781st 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.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9260th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9676th 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.

PHIL 1070 Philosophy of the Person IOvr96Chal43rdWork25th
On this class's board19th of 65 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1070.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202216969240
All 13 items for PHIL 1070
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9986th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9883rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9671st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9983rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9676th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9357th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9356th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9367th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8524th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9568th 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.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9043rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9464th 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.

PHIL 1252 Practical LogicOvr96Chal60thWork100th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 96 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1252.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Summer 2024019696100
All 13 items for PHIL 1252
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
100100th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9670th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9242nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9234th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9678th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9680th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9675th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9258th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9677th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8831st 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.
100100th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9260th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9361st 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.

How to read this pageScores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Almost every class scores high on that scale (the median is about 90), so challenge and workload are shown as a rank against every instructor we hold rather than as a score; the raw figure is in the breakdown above. Neither describes quality, and neither is ever marked better or worse anywhere on this site. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero. The position printed against each class is this instructor's place on that class's own board, computed from the same records the board itself is built from.