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 · Romance Languages and Literatures · Spring 2024 – Spring 2025

Laura Abate

Romance Languages and Literatures · 6 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
ITAL 11149th of 10 instructorsITAL 111310th of 10 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
81BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2024 – Spring 2025
78RateMyProfessors7 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 71% 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
22ndMore challenging than 22% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
83BC — “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 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
80thMore work than 80% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
60BC — “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: 7 ratings, 71% 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 6 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8417th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9033rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8625th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8620th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8216th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8011th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8111th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8319th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8525th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8630th 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.
6080th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8322nd 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

2 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.

ITAL 1114 Intermediate Italian IIOvr85Chal19thWork78th
On this class's board9th of 10 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 77 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 1114.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202506100100—
Spring 202507806960
Spring 202405605060
Spring 2024061009060
All 13 items for ITAL 1114
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8819th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8920th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8823rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8612th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8214th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8211th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
826th 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.
8521st 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.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8519th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8625th 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.

ITAL 1113 Intermediate Italian IOvr73Chal9thWork78th
On this class's board10th of 10 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 70 out of 100. See the full board for ITAL 1113.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202406757060
Fall 202407707060
All 13 items for ITAL 1113
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
783rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9343rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
838th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
859th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8214th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
785th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
805th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
784th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8523rd 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.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
809th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
754th 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.