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 · Philosophy · Spring 2023 – Spring 2025

Stephen Artner

Philosophy · 5 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
PHIL 107124th of 71 instructorsPHIL 107035th of 65 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
91BC evaluations5 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2023 – Spring 2025
80RateMyProfessors4 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 75% 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
68thMore challenging than 68% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
91BC — “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. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 56 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”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.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 4 ratings, 75% would take again, difficulty 56 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 5 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9573rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9573rd 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.
9573rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9473rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9259th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9365th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9378th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8735th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9371st 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.
9168th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9691st 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 · 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.

PHIL 1071 Philosophy of the Person IIOvr93Chal53rdWork30th
On this class's board24th of 71 instructors

3 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1071.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202515939160
Spring 202415969240
Spring 202315898540
All 13 items for PHIL 1071
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9666th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9670th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9457th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9666th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9676th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9358th 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.
9367th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8939th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9464th 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.
4730th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9153rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9783rd 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.

PHIL 1070 Philosophy of the Person IOvr88Chal43rdWork25th
On this class's board35th of 65 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 82 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1070.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202415847740
Fall 2023159187
All 13 items for PHIL 1070
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9346th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9240th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8925th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9340th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8831st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8829th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8925th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9153rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8318th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9149th 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.
9043rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9357th 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.