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 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2024

Katherine Carper

History · 10 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
85BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2024
100RateMyProfessors4 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
41stMore challenging than 41% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
87BC — “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. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 50 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
28thMore work than 28% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
43BC — “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.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 4 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 50 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 10 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9144th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9462nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8728th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8724th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9263rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9367th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8419th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8526th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8424th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8734th 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.
4328th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8741st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9059th 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

2 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.

HIST 1093 Modern History IOvr83Chal30thWork28th
On this class's board7th of 9 instructors

6 sections on record · course itself rated 74 out of 100. See the full board for HIST 1093.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202405857440
Spring 202406908740
Spring 2023058770
Spring 202306888140
Spring 202205787160
Spring 202206736240
All 13 items for HIST 1093
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9134th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9349th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8719th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8713th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9251st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9254th 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.
8516th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8625th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8832nd 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.
8730th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9039th 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.

HIST 1094 Modern History IIOvr87Chal22ndWork25th
On this class's board4th of 8 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 82 out of 100. See the full board for HIST 1094.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023019279
Fall 2023029486
Fall 202205828040
Fall 202206818140
All 13 items for HIST 1094
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9134th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9450th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8824th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8816th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9359th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9464th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8719th 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.
8114th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8316th 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.
8522nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9252nd 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.