Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Top of the board1.ECON 9902962.LAWS 8856973.PRTO 3300984.BSLW 2299975.PHIL 4932986.LAWS 8308987.SCWK 9960998.EESC 99011009.MUSP 16609610.UGMG 10109811.UNCP 55119712.SCWK 883197

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 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2025

Christopher Baum

Economics · 4 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
ECON 222833rd of 33 instructors ProvisionalECON 8823only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
69BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2025
—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
87thMore challenging than 87% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
94BC — “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
80thMore work than 80% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
60BC — “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.
755th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8719th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
777th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
765th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8216th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8112th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8519th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8423rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8116th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
7911th 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.
6080th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9487th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
7710th 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 2228 Econometric MethodsOvr46Chal53rdWork78th
On this class's board33rd of 33 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 42 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 2228.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202502484660
Spring 202205443760
All 13 items for ECON 2228
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
550th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
731st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
580th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
530th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
631st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
620th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
690th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
681st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
725th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
580th 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.
9153rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
570th 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 8823 Applied EconometricsOvr92Chal87thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 93 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 8823.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2025019010060
Spring 202301938760
All 13 items for ECON 8823
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9561st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
100100th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9775th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
100100th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
100100th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
100100th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
100100th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
100100th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
100100th 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.
9787th 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.

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.