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 · Economics · Spring 2024 – Spring 2026

Zachary Saunders

Economics · 13 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
85BC evaluations13 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2024 – Spring 2026
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
34thMore challenging than 34% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”13 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
35thMore work than 35% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
47BC — “Workload”13 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 13 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9039th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9143rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8934th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9034th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8736th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8838th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8625th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8631st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9152nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8944th 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.
8634th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8633rd 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 · 13 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.

ECON 1101 Principles of EconomicsOvr82Chal12thWork33rd
On this class's board4th of 46 instructors

8 sections on record · course itself rated 72 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 1101.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202609756840
Spring 202610766940
Spring 202611787240
Fall 202503937260
Fall 202504816160
Fall 202509776440
Fall 202432908540
Fall 202440848460
All 13 items for ECON 1101
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8821st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8923rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8616th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8714th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8419th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8519th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8410th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8312th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8936th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8624th 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.
4833rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8212th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8317th 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.

ECON 1151 StatisticsOvr91Chal56thWork29th
On this class's board2nd of 27 instructors

5 sections on record · course itself rated 82 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 1151.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202503918560
Spring 202504917640
Spring 2024059083
Spring 202406837540
Spring 2024121009340
All 13 items for ECON 1151
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.
9457th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9452nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9446th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9357th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9360th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8927th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9148th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9362nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9462nd 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.
4529th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9156th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8937th 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.