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 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2023

Anne Davenport

Philosophy · 8 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
PHIL 107030th of 65 instructors ProvisionalPHIL 107140th of 71 instructors ProvisionalPHIL 2450only instructor on record ProvisionalPHIL 5249only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
92BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2023
100RateMyProfessors1 rating · 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
56thMore challenging than 56% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
89BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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 60 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
40thMore work than 40% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
48BC — “Workload”8 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: 1 rating, 100% would take again, difficulty 60 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 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9361st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8928th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9362nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9465th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9156th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8943rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9258th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9270th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9577th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9472nd 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.
4840th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8956th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8951st 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 · 8 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 1070 Philosophy of the Person IOvr89Chal34thWork25th
On this class's board30th of 65 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 82 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1070.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202227868240
Fall 202127918240
All 13 items for PHIL 1070
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9239th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8611th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9033rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9552nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8833rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8416th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9139th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9041st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9464th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9462nd 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.
8834th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8317th 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 1071 Philosophy of the Person IIOvr90Chal9thWork25th
On this class's board40th of 71 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 85 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1071.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202327928440
Spring 2022278885
All 13 items for PHIL 1071
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9345th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
849th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9029th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9026th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9357th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9038th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8925th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8830th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9146th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9145th 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.
8625th 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 2450 Philosophies of HappinessOvr93Chal71stWork
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 2450.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2022019288
Fall 2021019495
All 13 items for PHIL 2450
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9346th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9134th 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.
9556th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9145th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9253rd 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.
9364th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9781st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9572nd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9471st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9249th 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

PHIL 5249 British EmpiricistsOvr94Chal74thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 5249.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202301948660
Spring 202201949160
All 13 items for PHIL 5249
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9666th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9345th 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.
9773rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9358th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9463rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9681st 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.
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.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9474th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9675th 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.