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 · Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Paul Poteat

Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology · 12 evaluation records across 3 classes

On each class's board
APSY 20411st of 9 instructorsAPSY 22421st of 6 instructorsAPSY 98413rd of 3 instructors
What the overall is made of
93BC evaluations12 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors5 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
37thMore challenging than 37% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”12 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 36 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
33rdMore work than 33% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
45BC — “Workload”12 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: 5 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 36 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 12 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9785th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9355th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9579th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9676th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9687th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9687th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9688th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9168th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9577th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9685th 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.
4533rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8637th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9163rd 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

3 classes · 12 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.

APSY 2041 Adolescent DevelopmentOvr96Chal13thWork3rd
On this class's board1st of 9 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 91 out of 100. See the full board for APSY 2041.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202603959020
Fall 202502979040
Fall 202402979140
Fall 202302949240
All 13 items for APSY 2041
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9880th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9667th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9773rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9785th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9784th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9462nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9046th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9784th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9677th 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.
353rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8213th 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.

APSY 2242 Interpersonal RelationsOvr97Chal18thWork25th
On this class's board1st of 6 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 94 out of 100. See the full board for APSY 2242.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202401959340
Spring 202402999340
Spring 202302949140
Fall 202102999840
All 13 items for APSY 2242
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9884th 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.
9778th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9878th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9785th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9786th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9779th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9255th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9781st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9674th 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.
8418th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9038th 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.

APSY 9841 Quantitative Research Design in Counseling and Developmental PsychologyOvr88Chal55thWork78th
On this class's board3rd of 3 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 87 out of 100. See the full board for APSY 9841.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601869160
Fall 202501918640
Spring 202202888460
Fall 202101858580
All 13 items for APSY 9841
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9454th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8716th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9351st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9235th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9359th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9359th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9678th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9255th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9045th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9677th 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.
9155th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9467th 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.