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 2026

Matthew Mersky

English · 11 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
ENGL 108085th of 90 instructorsENGL 101086th of 136 instructors
What the overall is made of
79BC evaluations11 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
38RateMyProfessors8 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 25% 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
27thMore challenging than 27% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
84BC — “Intellectually Challenging”11 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 90 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
27thMore work than 27% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
42BC — “Workload”11 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: 8 ratings, 25% would take again, difficulty 90 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 11 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8623rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9139th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8624th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8827th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
7810th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8112th 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.
8320th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8015th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8421st 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.
4227th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8427th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8846th 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 · 11 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 1080 Literature CoreOvr76Chal14thWork27th
On this class's board85th of 90 instructors

7 sections on record · course itself rated 71 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1080.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202617756840
Fall 202504767060
Fall 202505605640
Spring 202525837740
Fall 2023127575—
Spring 202325796940
Fall 202111888140
All 13 items for ENGL 1080
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
839th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8715th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
839th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
859th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
766th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
775th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
772nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
806th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
767th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
797th 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.
4327th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8314th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8831st 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.

ENGL 1010 First Year Writing SeminarOvr84Chal29thWork25th
On this class's board86th of 136 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 81 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1010.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202443827840
Spring 202421787640
Fall 202221928840
Fall 202162878240
All 13 items for ENGL 1010
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9133rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9671st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9137th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9236th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8214th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8724th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8717th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8937th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8728th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9148th 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.
8729th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8936th 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.