Can you explain the rating scale?

When rating a professor, please refer to these definitions of Rate My Professors' ratings categories.

• Rate Your Professor: Overall Quality (Good: 3.5-5, Average: 2.5-3.4, Poor: 1-2.4)
  • A professor's Overall Quality rating should reflect how well a professor teaches the course material, and how helpful they are both inside and outside of the classroom. Is the professor available for additional help after class or during office hours? Is the professor approachable, nice and easy to communicate with?

(Note that before May 18, 2016, Overall Quality was calculated by averaging a professor's separate "Helpfulness" and "Clarity" ratings, which formerly appeared on ratings pages.)

The following rating categories do not factor into the overall quality score given to a professor. 

• Level of Difficulty (easy: 1, hard: 5)
  • Some students want to know how easy or difficult a class is before they register. Is this class an easy A? How much work needs to be done in order to get a good grade?
• Would Take Again
  • Raters can share whether they'd be willing to take another course with a professor, or if once was enough. The average percentage only includes ratings added after May 25, 2016 (the date this option was added to professor ratings forms.)
• Textbook Use
  • Did this professor use the suggested textbook for this class?