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 · English · Fall 2021 – Spring 2024

Maren Schiffer

English · 8 evaluation records across 1 class

On this class's board
What the overall is made of
83BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2024
86RateMyProfessors4 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
19thMore challenging than 19% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
82BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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
55thMore work than 55% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
53BC — “Workload”8 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 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8934th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9575th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9038th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8724th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9155th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9153rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9150th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8528th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8422nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9155th 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.
8219th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8324th 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 · 8 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 SeminarOvr83Chal12thWork43rd
On this class's board104th of 136 instructors

8 sections on record · course itself rated 78 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1010.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202404938760
Spring 202411867840
Fall 2023298480
Fall 2023307976
Fall 202206878160
Fall 202207807560
Fall 202139868340
Fall 202167666560
All 13 items for ENGL 1010
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8924th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9563rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9028th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8714th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9146th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9144th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9136th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8518th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8419th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9146th 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.
5343rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8212th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8316th 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.