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 · Earth and Environmental Sciences · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Ethan Baxter

Professor · Earth and Environmental Sciences · 10 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
EESC 22201st of 3 instructorsEESC 5140only instructor on record ProvisionalEESC 55781st of 2 instructors ProvisionalEESC 1701only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
96BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
56RateMyProfessors5 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 40% would take again
—Student reviewsno reviews — 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
94thMore challenging than 94% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
96BC — “Intellectually Challenging”10 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. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 84 out of 100 for difficulty — that IS a difficulty measure, but it is about the person across everything they teach, not about any one class, so it is shown here rather than folded into the number above.

What the workload rank is made of
86thMore work than 86% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
67BC — “Workload”10 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.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 5 ratings, 40% would take again, difficulty 84 out of 100. Difficulty is not a quality signal in either direction — a harder course is not a worse one.

Anyone can post there — no @bc.edu check and no enrolment check — so it is weighted alongside the evaluation data, never above it.

The line

All 13 items · means across 10 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9680th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9893rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9576th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9787th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9581st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9265th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8942nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8953rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9046th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9159th 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.
6786th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9694th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9897th 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

4 classes · 10 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.

EESC 2220 Earth MaterialsOvr97Chal81stWork43rd
On this class's board1st of 3 instructors

5 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 2220.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 20240110010060
Spring 20240210093—
Spring 202201968660
Spring 202202958540
Spring 2022039380—
All 13 items for EESC 2220
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9883rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9987th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9565th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9985th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9679th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9570th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9137th 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.
9467th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9254th 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.
5343rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9681st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9989th 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.

EESC 5140 Isotope Geochemistry and GeochronologyOvr100Chal91stWork95th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 98 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 5140.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 20260110010080
Fall 20210110097100
All 13 items for EESC 5140
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.
100100th 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.
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.
9888th 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.
8731st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9781st 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.
9095th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9891st 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.

EESC 5578 Petrology (Grad)Ovr100Chal—Work—
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 100 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 5578.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202301100100—
Fall 202302100100—
All 13 items for EESC 5578

Nothing reported

None of the evaluation questions were reported for these records.

EESC 1701 Building a Habitable Planet: Geoscientific PerspectivesOvr72Chal51stWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 62 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 1701.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202501726260
All 13 items for EESC 1701
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
794th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9238th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
828th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
826th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
766th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
661st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
650th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
660th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
693rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
754th 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.
9151st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9466th 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.