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 · Law · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Joan Shear

Law · 10 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
LAWS 81307th of 8 instructorsLAWS 8118only instructor on recordLAWS 8950only instructor on record ProvisionalLAWS 8127only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
91BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – 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
61stMore challenging than 61% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
90BC — “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.

What the workload rank is made of
31stMore work than 31% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
44BC — “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.

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.
9468th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9790th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9361st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9566th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9689th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9690th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9688th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9589th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9475th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9478th 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.
4431st pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9061st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9376th 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.

LAWS 8130 Advanced Legal ResearchOvr89Chal30thWork29th
On this class's board7th of 8 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for LAWS 8130.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202402818040
Spring 202402959340
Fall 202202899060
Spring 202202929040
All 13 items for LAWS 8130
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9240th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9777th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9134th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9340th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9574th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9678th 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.
9471st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9464th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9467th 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.
4529th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8730th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9146th 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.

LAWS 8118 Environmental Legal ResearchOvr91Chal89thWork39th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

3 sections on record · course itself rated 91 out of 100. See the full board for LAWS 8118.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501909540
Fall 2023018987—
Fall 202101939160
All 13 items for LAWS 8118
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9666th 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.
9671st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9773rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9887th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9992nd 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.
9684th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9885th 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.
5039th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9789th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9783rd 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.

LAWS 8950 Intellectual Property ResearchOvr94Chal37thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 91 out of 100. See the full board for LAWS 8950.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601959340
Spring 202501938940
All 13 items for LAWS 8950
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9773rd 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.
9667th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9448th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9676th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9469th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9351st 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.
9253rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9358th 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.
8837th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9357th 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.

LAWS 8127 Intellectual Property ResearchOvr92Chal48thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for LAWS 8127.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202301929240
All 13 items for LAWS 8127
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9669th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9670th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9242nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9663rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9679th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9574th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9675th pctl
Assignments & Feedback2 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9575th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9145th 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.
9048th 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

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.