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 · Economics · Fall 2021 – Spring 2022

Bruce Watson

Economics · 4 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
80BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2022
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
RateMyProfessorsno ratings — 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
24thMore challenging than 24% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
84BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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.

What the workload rank is made of
33rdMore work than 33% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
45BC — “Workload”4 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.

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8519th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
806th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8111th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
819th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8320th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8522nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8520th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8740th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
757th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
734th 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.
4533rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8424th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
726th 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

2 classes · 4 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.

ECON 2211 Math for Economic AnalysisOvr83Chal16thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

3 sections on record · course itself rated 75 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 2211.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202201837040
Spring 202202877740
Fall 202101807940
All 13 items for ECON 2211
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8718th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
826th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8411th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
825th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8420th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8414th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8718th 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.
8216th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
786th 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.
8416th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
723rd 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.

ECON 2201 Microeconomic TheoryOvr72Chal15thWork78th
On this class's board8th of 19 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 73 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 2201.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101727360
All 13 items for ECON 2201
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
783rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
751st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
721st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
771st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
788th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8832nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
783rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8518th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
530th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
600th 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.
8315th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
754th 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.