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 · Social Work · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Sarah Ryan

Social Work · 10 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
92BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors1 rating · 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
45thMore challenging than 45% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
87BC — “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 60 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
31stMore work than 31% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
44BC — “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: 1 rating, 100% would take again, difficulty 60 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.
9468th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8719th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9467th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9573rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9052nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9264th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9580th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9169th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
736th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8013th 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.
4431st pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8745th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9586th 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.

SCWK 6608 Introduction to Social WorkOvr91Chal33rdWork26th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

9 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for SCWK 6608.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601909040
Fall 202501898840
Spring 202501929440
Fall 202401938960
Spring 202401908640
Fall 2023019090
Spring 202301868340
Fall 202201908840
Spring 202201979740
All 13 items for SCWK 6608
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9451st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8613th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9347th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9552nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9145th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9252nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9458th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9152nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
746th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
797th 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.
4326th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8833rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9568th 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.

PSYC 2201 Introduction to Social WorkOvr98Chal29thWork78th
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 PSYC 2201.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101989760
All 13 items for PSYC 2201
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.
8820th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
100100th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8834th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9574th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
100100th 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.
601st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9250th 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.
8729th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9888th 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.