Over the more than 30 years U.S. News & World Report has evaluated colleges, we’ve received our share of criticism — some of it fair and some of it unfounded. But the recent Politico story, “How U.S. News college rankings promote economic inequality on campus,” is a bizarrely constructed article, built on false premises and filled with conjecture rather than facts.
More troubling, it focuses on the tired and all-too-convenient excuses of a handful of alleged academic experts who would rather blame U.S. News than address the real crises in higher education that are producing generations burdened by high student debt in return for incomplete or inadequate educations.
Here are the facts.
1. U.S. News values graduation and retention rates and graduate rate performance — a measure specifically designed to recognize schools that are working to help the most disadvantaged students and penalize those that aren’t — above all else. At 30 percent, these measures far outweigh financial resources, alumni giving and selectivity — the focus of Politico’s article.
Acceptance rate is just 1.25 percent. If schools want to rise in the U.S. News rankings, they should devote their resources to academically and financially supporting their students through graduation.
2. The question of whether and how to measure socioeconomic diversity as it relates to academic quality is hotly debated in higher education. School leaders have much more nuanced and disparate views on socioeconomic diversity than what a select number tell Politico. We know this because we have ongoing conversations with them.
Some suggest adjusting SAT/ACT scores based on schools’ economic and ethnic diversity or getting rid of admissions selectivity altogether, while others tell us that being able to admit more academically successful applicants and have more resources to support them are advantageous.
We look at economic diversity by factoring in Pell Grants in our predicted graduation rate calculation. While imperfect, Pell Grants are one of the best measures we have in evaluating socioeconomic diversity in schools.
3. Georgia State University rose in the rankings, while Southern Methodist University fell. The two examples Politico uses in support of its argument are incorrect as of the 2018 Best College rankings, released yesterday.
For the first time, GSU has risen out of the bottom 25 percent in its ranking category to earn a numerical rank of 223, tying with seven other schools. It is also No. 4 in U.S. News’ ranking of the Most Innovative Schools among National Universities.
SMU’s rank has not “skyrocketed” starting in 2008. That year, its rank was No. 67 and since then it has fluctuated between No. 56 and No. 68. In the latest rankings, it dropped by five spots, from a tie at No. 56 to a tie at No. 61.
Politico updated its story today to include these facts.
4. We pay close attention to the opinions of college leaders. Over the years we’ve made several changes in response to recommendations from school leaders.
These include increasing the weight of outcomes measures, such as graduation rate; dropping yield rate as a ranking factor; lessening the weight of admissions selectivity and high school class standing; and changing how we calculate class size.
5. Lastly, U.S. News had no role in electing Donald Trump. Politico has published thousands of pieces that focus on the key factors at play in the last presidential election and on the complex topic of income distribution. The U.S. News Best Colleges rankings are not one of these factors — they’re a credible resource for students and parents to use when researching their college options.
We wish Politico would ask college officials some tougher questions. For instance, if they are so focused on economic inequality on campus, why aren’t they tackling the major challenge of retaining and graduating students? What does it take to adequately support kids — especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds — through graduation?
America has one of the greatest higher education systems in the world. Surely, the leaders of these institutions can do more than pass the blame onto U.S. News.
More from U.S. News
What’s New in the 2018 U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings
Princeton, Williams Top 2018 U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings
How to Use the Best Colleges Rankings Wisely
U.S. News Responds to Politico’s Critiques of Best Colleges originally appeared on usnews.com
