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 · Psychology · Spring 2022 – Spring 2024

Joshua Hartshorne

Psychology · 6 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
PSYC 2262only instructor on record ProvisionalPSYC 3360only instructor on record ProvisionalCSCI 22533rd of 3 instructors ProvisionalPSYC 5564only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
82BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2024
100RateMyProfessors1 rating · 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
74thMore challenging than 74% 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 60 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
48thMore work than 48% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
50BC — “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, 100% would take again, difficulty 60 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.
8623rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9140th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8623rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8827th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8319th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8522nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8624th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8529th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9051st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8946th 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.
9274th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8322nd 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.

PSYC 2262 Baby TalkOvr80Chal42ndWork39th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 74 out of 100. See the full board for PSYC 2262.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202401827840
Spring 202201787060
All 13 items for PSYC 2262
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.
8715th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8615th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8817th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8215th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8416th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
839th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8728th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8938th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8624th 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.
8942nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8317th 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.

PSYC 3360 How Extraterrestrials ThinkOvr87Chal37thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 82 out of 100. See the full board for PSYC 3360.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2023019183
Spring 202201828160
All 13 items for PSYC 3360
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9136th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8928th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9130th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9044th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8933rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8615th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8622nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9359th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9463rd 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.
8837th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8624th 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.

CSCI 2253 Documenting and Preserving Indigenous Languages with Data ScienceOvr83Chal89thWork25th
On this class's board3rd of 3 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 94 out of 100. See the full board for CSCI 2253.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202401839440
All 13 items for CSCI 2253
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8717th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9028th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8717th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8713th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8624th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8933rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9462nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8621st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9044th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9043rd 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.
9789th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8623rd 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.

PSYC 5564 Computational Models of CognitionOvr75Chal86thWork
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 71 out of 100. See the full board for PSYC 5564.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2023017571
All 13 items for PSYC 5564
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
762nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9133rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
806th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
847th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
651st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
753rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
826th pctl
Assignments & Feedback2 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
808th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8623rd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9686th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
712nd 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. 2 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.