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 · Law · Spring 2022 – Spring 2025

Joseph Darby

Law · 3 evaluation records across 1 class

On this class's board
What the overall is made of
74BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2025
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
26thMore challenging than 26% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
84BC — “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
48thMore work than 48% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
50BC — “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.
8110th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
752nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8112th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8212th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
767th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8836th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9151st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8738th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8836th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8421st 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.
5048th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8426th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8119th 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

1 class · 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.

LAWS 7778 Taxation III (Advanced Corporate Tax)Ovr74Chal17thWork39th
On this class's board2nd of 2 instructors

3 sections on record · course itself rated 76 out of 100. See the full board for LAWS 7778.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202501717660
Spring 2024018080
Spring 202201727240
All 13 items for LAWS 7778
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
816th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
751st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
817th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
825th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
766th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8829th 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.
8727th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8832nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8417th 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.
8417th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8112th 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.