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

Carmela Merolla

Romance Languages and Literatures · 6 evaluation records across 5 classes

On each class's board
ITAL 11145th of 10 instructors ProvisionalITAL 10036th of 9 instructors ProvisionalITAL 10046th of 11 instructors ProvisionalITAL 55551st of 2 instructors ProvisionalRLRL 6697only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
96BC 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
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.

What the workload rank is made of
55thMore work than 55% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
53BC — “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.
9677th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9684th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9791st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9788th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9155th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9050th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8836th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8847th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9370th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9475th 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.
5355th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8743rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9374th 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

5 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.

ITAL 1114 Intermediate Italian IIOvr97Chal32ndWork39th
On this class's board5th of 10 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 1114.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2026011009640
Spring 202503958360
All 13 items for ITAL 1114
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.
9988th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9987th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9984th 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.
9139th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8939th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9887th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9990th 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.
5039th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8732nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9781st 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.

ITAL 1003 Elementary Italian IOvr91Chal41stWork
On this class's board6th of 9 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 77 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 1003.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2025019177
All 13 items for ITAL 1003
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8819th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9242nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9135th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9236th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8625th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8829th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8717th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8313th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8938th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8829th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8941st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9463rd 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.

ITAL 1004 Elementary Italian IIOvr96Chal36thWork
On this class's board6th of 11 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 91 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 1004.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2025039691
All 13 items for ITAL 1004
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.
9558th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9986th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9774th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9570th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9570th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
838th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9148th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9254th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9361st pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8836th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8726th 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.

ITAL 5555 Italian Culture Through Popular SongOvr100Chal15thWork78th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 97 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 5555.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2026011009760
All 13 items for ITAL 5555
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.
9774th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
100100th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8317th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8314th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9033rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9045th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9044th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9043rd 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.
9042nd 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.

RLRL 6697 Advanced Independent ResearchOvrChalWork
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated — out of 100. See the full board for RLRL 6697.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601
All 13 items for RLRL 6697

Nothing reported

None of the evaluation questions were reported for these records.

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.