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 · Political Science · Fall 2021 – Fall 2022

Kenji Hayao

Political Science · 4 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
POLI 2415only instructor on record ProvisionalPOLI 2469only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
90BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2022
88RateMyProfessors7 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
42ndMore challenging than 42% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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 66 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
55thMore work than 55% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
53BC — “Workload”4 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: 7 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 66 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 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9574th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9573rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9466th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9352nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9478th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9367th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9258th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9059th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9367th 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.
5355th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8742nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9165th 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 · 4 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.

POLI 2415 Models of PoliticsOvr92Chal36thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 86 out of 100. See the full board for POLI 2415.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2022019488
Fall 202101898340
All 13 items for POLI 2415
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.
9672nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9560th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9552nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9254th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9148th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9352nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9152nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9148th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9039th 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.
8836th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9462nd 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.

POLI 2469 The Politics of Japan and the Republic of KoreaOvr88Chal22ndWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 84 out of 100. See the full board for POLI 2469.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202201878760
Fall 202101888160
All 13 items for POLI 2469
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9558th 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.
9244th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9129th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9679th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9466th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9035th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8936th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9569th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8938th 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.
8522nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8937th 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.