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 · Romance Languages and Literatures · Spring 2025 – Spring 2026

Can Zhu

Romance Languages and Literatures · 6 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
SPAN 101613th of 26 instructorsSPAN 101518th of 18 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
87BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2025 – Spring 2026
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
64thMore challenging than 64% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
90BC — “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.

What the workload rank is made of
31stMore work than 31% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
44BC — “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.

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.
8935th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9360th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8936th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9033rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9052nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9158th 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.
8952nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9578th 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.
4431st pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9064th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9164th 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 · 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.

SPAN 1016 Elementary Spanish IIOvr90Chal60thWork29th
On this class's board13th of 26 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 77 out of 100. See the full board for SPAN 1016.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202603988260
Spring 202606878240
Spring 202509776540
Spring 202510967840
All 13 items for SPAN 1016
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9343rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9563rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9138th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8921st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9039th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9145th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8820th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9149th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9572nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9467th 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.
4529th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9260th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9252nd 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.

SPAN 1015 Elementary Spanish IOvr81Chal26thWork25th
On this class's board18th of 18 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 76 out of 100. See the full board for SPAN 1015.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2025038174
Fall 202506807840
All 13 items for SPAN 1015
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
838th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9029th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8514th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9026th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9252nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9255th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
793rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8622nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9467th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9148th 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.
8626th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9038th 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.