Fall 2026

Racial Ethnic Families in the U.s.

Examines family diversity and human development across racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., shaped by culture, history, and socio-political contexts.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Polina Levchenko2.8/5

Summary

1 / 6

Reviewers frequently cite last-minute assignment postings, sometimes less than 24 hours before deadlines, and unclear instructions. The workload includes group projects, papers, and in-class assignments, with some noting that online formats require significantly more work than in-person sessions.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing

  • Sophomore standing
HDFS 474

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Sophomore standing

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.04/5 from 24 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 2.3/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 8 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Polina Levchenko is described as caring and available, offering extensions and focusing on deep engagement with readings. She makes herself readily accessible to students to ensure they succeed.

Other reviewers criticize Levchenko for poor communication, unclear instructions, and last-minute assignment postings. They report minimal feedback, slow grading, and a syllabus with confusing or missing due dates.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.74 GPA, 88.5% A/AB (n=78 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.79 GPA, 92.3% A/AB (n=39 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.38 GPA, 74.4% A/AB (n=39 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Dondieneita Fleary-Simmons, Lauren Lewis, Stace Rierson: Polina Levchenko currently teaches HDFS 474. Lauren Lewis was praised for fostering long-term retention and being personable, though papers and quizzes were noted as challenging. Stace Rierson received criticism for inconsistent grading and unclear syllabus expectations, while Dondieneita Fleary-Simmons was described as miserable and penalizing students for disagreeing with her.

DONDIENEITA FLEARY-SIMMONS is recorded teaching in Spring 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LAUREN LEWIS is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

POLINA LEVCHENKO is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

STACY RIERSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction40 / 400

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Polina Levchenko receives polarized reviews, with one student praising her support while others criticize her communication and teaching quality. Many describe the course as an easy A but tedious or boring, with significant frustration over last-minute assignments and unclear instructions.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.74 GPA, 88.5% A/AB (n=78 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.79 GPA, 92.3% A/AB (n=39 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.38 GPA, 74.4% A/AB (n=39 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Reviewers frequently cite last-minute assignment postings, sometimes less than 24 hours before deadlines, and unclear instructions. The workload includes group projects, papers, and in-class assignments, with some noting that online formats require significantly more work than in-person sessions.

Students report that the class is easy to pass with participation but often boring and frustrating due to poor communication. While one reviewer found Levchenko supportive, others noted minimal feedback, lack of email responsiveness, and confusing syllabus details that left them constantly unsure of expectations.

Topics

  • Family life and human development across racial and ethnic groups
  • Race, ethnicity, culture, and biculturalism
  • Social contexts including history, economics, immigration, and socio-political conditions

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
HDFS 474 · Fall 2026

Racial Ethnic Families in the U.S.

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:230:002915",
    "course_id": "HDFS 474",
    "course_uid": "course_0dbc849ae691e66884d6c49d",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "002915",
    "source_subject_id": "230",
    "title": "Racial Ethnic Families in the U.S.",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d27b46a228898563455fbd00fb9c8d2d3ee9a0d56fe9b59d87456d6cfff16f8d",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}