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 · Biology · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Peter Clote

Professor · Biology · 10 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
65BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
60RateMyProfessors2 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
87thMore challenging than 87% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
94BC — “Intellectually Challenging”10 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
80thMore work than 80% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
60BC — “Workload”10 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: 2 ratings, 50% 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 10 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
745th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8722nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
765th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
787th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
703rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
733rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
753rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8216th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
715th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
693rd 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.
6080th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9487th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8222nd 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 · 10 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.

BIOL 4200 Introduction to BioinformaticsOvr57Chal41stWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

5 sections on record · course itself rated 51 out of 100. See the full board for BIOL 4200.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501624960
Fall 202401625660
Fall 2023014953
Fall 202202444060
Fall 202101665960
All 13 items for BIOL 4200
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
650th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
848th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
701st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
721st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
631st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
661st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
752nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
784th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
672nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
641st 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.
8941st 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.

BIOL 4250 Population GeneticsOvr74Chal89thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

5 sections on record · course itself rated 67 out of 100. See the full board for BIOL 4250.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2026018575
Spring 202501604760
Spring 202401757060
Spring 2023027570
Spring 202201767260
All 13 items for BIOL 4250
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
827th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9028th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
806th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
836th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
766th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
797th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
741st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8621st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
757th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
733rd 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.
9789th 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.