AI Rate Professor

Mathematics

Kevin Carlson

MATH54 · NATH15 · MATH2 · MATH15 · MATH10 · MATH7 · 20 lifetime ratings

AI rating
31/100
RMP rating
2.7/5
Take again
30%
Difficulty
4.4

The decision

Only take Carlson if you already love hard proofs and will self-study aggressively; .

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerExtremely hard examsIncomprehensible lectures for manyProof-heavy rigorExtra credit lifelinePolarizing math professor
  • Difficulty is consistently high; and .
  • A minority of hardcore students praise deep rigor, accessibility, and preparation for upper-level math.
  • ; several report heavy curves, late grading, or only surviving via .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

28/100

As are rare without massive hours, curves, or ; many land C-range grades despite heavy effort.

Both online and ; a few online students note softens the blow.

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

18/100

Proof-heavy, theory-dense material with .

Extreme difficulty is consistent across online and in-person math sections.

Is attendance flexible?

Recommended

38/100

, but many warn that missing class makes an already hard course worse.

; in-person more often requires or strongly expects presence.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

30/100

Would-take-again sits near 30%; most students advise against unless you want elite rigor over a safe grade.

; positive recommendations cluster among students seeking transfer-level rigor.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

, and exam-heavy schemes dominate; sometimes rescues survivors.

Format shift

Strict grading complaints appear online and in person; a few .

Workload

Overwhelming

18/100

, and long study weeks are common across courses.

Format shift

; online also cites CoCalc friction.

Teaching experience

Poor

36/100

He is widely seen as brilliant but ; a minority thrive on his precision and office hours.

Format shift

In-person has more glowing outliers; online skews more negative on lecture quality.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Exams and and projects as heavy secondary loads.

Format shift

Test-heavy tags appear in online and in-person reviews alike.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

13 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

some call him the are esoteric and exams crush grades.

Main concern

and proof difficulty can tank grades even for diligent students.

What students said

“ . Lectures incomprehensible.”
MATH10
“no one at SMC will teach you the material better than Professor Carlson.”
MATH10
“his lectures are abysmal and .”
MATH15

Remote format

Online

7 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

, and few full-credit outcomes without grinding.

Main concern

Self-teaching from the book becomes necessary while exams and .

What students said

“ ! This is the only class I got C and I got accepted to Berkeley.”
MATH10
“His lectures are such a mess that its easier to just study from the textbook.”
NATH15
“His class was not as difficult as it seems from the graded problems and exams because of the extra credits and .”
MATH10

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are described as extremely hard, theory-heavy, and decisive for the .

Test heavyProof-oriented examsHarder than homeworkExtra credit projects

Assessment risk

Strict

28/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

, and large enough that one fail can sink the grade.

Exam-heavy gradeProof/theory testsNot based on HW
“ ”
MATH15
“ and are not based on the homework.”
MATH15
“The grade.”
MATH54

Online

Online students report ridiculous or error-filled exams, laggy CoCalc testing, and reliance on .

Hard online examsCoCalc testsExtra credit projects
“ and constantly filled with typos and errors.”
NATH15
“he also gave a lot of extra credits from the project, presentation and long problem.”
MATH10

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ ! This is the only class I got C and I got accepted to Berkeley.”

Voice snapshots generated from 20 reviews (7 online, 13 in person), highlighting extreme difficulty, polarizing teaching, and . Credibility rating: High.

🔥 Extreme Difficulty

18/100

“ . Lectures incomprehensible.”

🧠 Hardcore Upside

70/100

“no one at SMC will teach you the material better than Professor Carlson.”

📉 Recommendation Risk

30/100

“I do not .”

🧪 Teaching Clarity Gap

36/100

“His lectures are, as another student put it, incomprehensible.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Lectures

  • Lectures incomprehensible
  • his lectures are abysmal
  • its easier to just study from the textbook

Theme 2

📈

  • and are not based on the homework
  • Got an A from

Theme 3

💪 About Hardcore Learners

  • This class gave me the mathematical rigor to excel in all my future classes
  • I learned more in this class than I have in any math class at a 4-year university
  • !!!!!!!

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

20

Recent reviews read by the AI

20

Lifetime ratings

82/100

Evidence confidence

Twenty recent, detailed, and highly consistent reviews about difficulty and lecture clarity support a strong read despite polarizing outliers.

Inside 20 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 56
4 out of 50
3 out of 51
2 out of 57
1 out of 56

Course coverage

MATH108 reviews
MATH544 reviews
MATH153 reviews
MATH73 reviews
MATH21 review
Show 1 more courses
NATH151 review

Reported outcomes

C range results lead the reported letter grades.

19 reported outcomes

A range

5

A 4 · A- 1

B range

2

B+ 1 · B 1

C range

6

C+ 2 · C 3 · C- 1

D range

1

D 1

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

5

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Not sure yet 1 · Rather not say 3