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 · Spring 2025 – Spring 2026

Nicholas Adler

English · 3 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
ENGL 10806th of 90 instructors ProvisionalENGL 2291only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
98BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2025 – Spring 2026
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
RateMyProfessorsno ratings — 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
57thMore challenging than 57% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
89BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 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.

What the workload rank is made of
55thMore work than 55% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
53BC — “Workload”3 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.

The line

All 13 items · means across 3 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9893rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9997th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9894th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9996th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9687th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9582nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9687th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9488th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9683rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9792nd 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.
8957th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9479th 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 · 3 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 CoreOvr98Chal29thWork39th
On this class's board6th of 90 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1080.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202509999160
Spring 202516979340
All 13 items for ENGL 1080
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9776th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9988th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9883rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9985th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9677th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9469th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9460th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9363rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9467th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9780th 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.
5039th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8729th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9146th 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 2291 Intimacy and Independence in 20th Century American LiteratureOvr98Chal74thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 97 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 2291.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601989760
All 13 items for ENGL 2291
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
100100th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
100100th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9885th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9677th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9678th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9989th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9788th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9889th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9888th 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.
9474th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9989th 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.