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 · Sociology · Fall 2023 – Summer 2025

Saber Khani

Sociology · 4 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
SOCY 10012nd of 26 instructorsSOCY 22002nd of 3 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
94BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2023 – Summer 2025
92RateMyProfessors7 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 86% 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
63rdMore challenging than 63% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
90BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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 40 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
35thMore work than 35% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
47BC — “Workload”4 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: 7 ratings, 86% would take again, difficulty 40 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 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9467th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9468th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9361st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9355th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9581st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9584th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9151st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9166th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9996th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9159th 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.
4735th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9063rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8951st 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 · 4 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.

SOCY 1001 Introductory SociologyOvr97Chal48thWork25th
On this class's board2nd of 26 instructors

3 sections on record · course itself rated 93 out of 100. See the full board for SOCY 1001.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202408989740
Spring 202407949040
Fall 2023019894
All 13 items for SOCY 1001
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9882nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9774th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9777th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9774th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9784th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9786th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9676th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9786th 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.
9782nd 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.
9048th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9043rd 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.

SOCY 2200 StatisticsOvr85Chal48thWork78th
On this class's board2nd of 3 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 75 out of 100. See the full board for SOCY 2200.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Summer 202501857560
All 13 items for SOCY 2200
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8717th 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.
8514th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
859th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9043rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
805th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
808th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
100100th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8010th 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.
9048th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8726th 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.