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 · Formative Education · Spring 2025 – Spring 2026

Emanuele Colombo

Formative Education · 3 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
FORM 2820only instructor on record ProvisionalJESU 71592nd of 2 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
97BC evaluations3 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
90thMore challenging than 90% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
94BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 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
35thMore work than 35% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
47BC — “Workload”3 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 3 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9996th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9789th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9786th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9994th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9997th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9998th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9895th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9998th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9259th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8942nd 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.
4735th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9490th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9691st 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 · 3 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.

FORM 2820 Spiritual ExercisesOvr96Chal62ndWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 96 out of 100. See the full board for FORM 2820.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601959640
Spring 202501969640
All 13 items for FORM 2820
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9884th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9780th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9672nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9880th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9889th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9890th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9887th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9891st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9358th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8937th 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.
9262nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
100100th 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.

JESU 7159 A History of The JesuitsOvr99Chal93rdWork78th
On this class's board2nd of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 97 out of 100. See the full board for JESU 7159.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501999760
All 13 items for JESU 7159
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.
9779th 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.
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.
9783rd 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.
9044th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8829th 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.
9993rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8935th 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.