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 2023 – Spring 2026

Garo Saraydarian

Formative Education · 14 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
96BC evaluations14 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2023 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors11 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 100% 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
53rdMore challenging than 53% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
89BC — “Intellectually Challenging”14 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 22 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
29thMore work than 29% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
44BC — “Workload”14 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: 11 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 22 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 14 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9892nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9787th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9893rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9892nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9689th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9581st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9687th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9488th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9789th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9793rd 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.
4429th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8953rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9586th 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 · 14 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 1051 Reimagining School and SocietyOvr96Chal31stWork28th
On this class's board1st of 10 instructors

7 sections on record · course itself rated 94 out of 100. See the full board for FORM 1051.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202602939060
Spring 202603989540
Spring 2025029689
Fall 202401989740
Spring 2024029910040
Fall 2023019391
Spring 202302989640
All 13 items for FORM 1051
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.
9672nd 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.
9882nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9782nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9570th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9570th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9474th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9573rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9885th 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.
4428th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8731st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9568th 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.

FORM 1050 The Educational ConversationOvr98Chal39thWork25th
On this class's board1st of 11 instructors

3 sections on record · course itself rated 97 out of 100. See the full board for FORM 1050.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202506989640
Spring 202401989840
Fall 2023029797
All 13 items for FORM 1050
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9988th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9881st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9885th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9983rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9782nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9469th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9672nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9684th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9782nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9783rd 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.
8939th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9782nd 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.

FORM 4050 The Art of Educational InquiryOvr94Chal44thWork30th
On this class's board1st of 3 instructors

3 sections on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for FORM 4050.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202501939040
Fall 202401908740
Spring 20240210010060
All 13 items for FORM 4050
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.
9777th 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.
9464th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9571st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9364th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9989th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9783rd 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.
4730th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9044th 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.

FORM 2810 Aesthetic AwakeningsOvr98Chal76thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 95 out of 100. See the full board for FORM 2810.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501989540
All 13 items for FORM 2810
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.
9885th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9884th 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.
9681st 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.
9362nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9679th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9679th 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.
9576th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9678th 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.