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 · Art History · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025

Richard Newman

Art History · 5 evaluation records across 1 class

On this class's board
What the overall is made of
90BC evaluations5 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025
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
43rdMore challenging than 43% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”5 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
26thMore work than 26% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
40BC — “Workload”5 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 5 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9468th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9037th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9251st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9245th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8630th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8941st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9582nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9382nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8116th 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.
4026th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8743rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9266th 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 · 5 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.

ARTH 4314 The Materials of Art and their ConservationOvr90Chal30thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

5 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for ARTH 4314.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501948640
Fall 202401838640
Fall 2023019793
Fall 202201909040
Fall 2021018590
All 13 items for ARTH 4314
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9456th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9029th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9239th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9232nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8625th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8933rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9566th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9367th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8114th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8416th 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.
8730th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9249th 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.