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 · English · Fall 2021 – Spring 2025

Lydia Buchanan

English · 14 evaluation records across 1 class

On this class's board
ENGL 1010126th of 136 instructors
What the overall is made of
78BC evaluations14 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2025
64RateMyProfessors6 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 50% 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
6thMore challenging than 6% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
76BC — “Intellectually Challenging”14 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 64 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
49thMore work than 49% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
51BC — “Workload”14 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: 6 ratings, 50% would take again, difficulty 64 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 14 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8827th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9143rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8315th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8211th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9260th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8839th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8418th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8114th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8527th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8629th 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.
5149th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
766th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8221st 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 · 14 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.

ENGL 1010 First Year Writing SeminarOvr78Chal4thWork39th
On this class's board126th of 136 instructors

14 sections on record · course itself rated 75 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1010.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202526605860
Fall 202422586040
Fall 202430676340
Spring 202409767660
Spring 202410695840
Fall 2023138377—
Fall 2023148074—
Spring 202304908440
Spring 202314807340
Fall 202238727560
Fall 2022399082—
Spring 202214878360

Showing the first 12.

All 13 items for ENGL 1010
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.
9134th 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.
825th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9251st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8832nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8410th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
819th 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.
8622nd 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.
5139th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
764th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8213th 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.