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 · History · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Franco Mormando

Professor of Italian · History · 6 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
ITAL 8830only instructor on record ProvisionalITAL 8850only instructor on record ProvisionalITAL 3373only instructor on record ProvisionalRLRL 3320only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
84BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
30RateMyProfessors1 rating · weight ×2.0
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
78thMore challenging than 78% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
92BC — “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. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 40 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
90thMore work than 90% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
70BC — “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.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 1 rating, difficulty 40 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 6 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9467th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9465th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9470th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9782nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9367th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9371st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9476th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9380th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9263rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9367th 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.
7090th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9278th 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 · 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 8830 Bernini and the BaroqueOvr89Chal39thWork
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 8830.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2025018484
Fall 2022019494
All 13 items for ITAL 8830
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.
9343rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9559th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9879th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9149th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9148th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9565th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9575th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8936th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9043rd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8939th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9887th 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 8850 The Plague in Italy: From Boccaccio to ManzoniOvr98Chal91stWork93rd
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 ITAL 8850.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601969680
Fall 202101100100
All 13 items for ITAL 8850
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.
9883rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9879th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9889th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9889th 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.
9677th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9677th 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.
8093rd 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.

ITAL 3373 Love, Sex, and Gender: The Western Literary TraditionOvr73Chal33rdWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 79 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 3373.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202301737960
All 13 items for ITAL 3373
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8615th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8510th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8616th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9130th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8522nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8829th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8513th pctl
Assignments & Feedback2 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
819th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9253rd 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.
8833rd 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.

RLRL 3320 From Sappho to Stonewall Landmarks of Gay HistoryOvr58ChalWork
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 63 out of 100. See the full board for RLRL 3320.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023015863
All 13 items for RLRL 3320

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.