Why We Need Better College Rankings
As the saying goes, what gets measured gets managed. In this interview, Washington Monthly’s editor argues we should stop equating a college’s worth with its U.S. News & World Report ranking and instead use a ranking system that holds schools accountable for real-world outcomes
As a beneficiary of the nation’s meritocratic system, I have lost count of the number of times I have consulted U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings. I suspect many readers have, too, even if discreetly.
The first time I opened the storied magazine was as a starry-eyed high school student applying to undergraduate programs in the mid-1990s. I did the same once again some years later, as a young professional, when I anxiously applied to graduate programs to polish my résumé. As the first in my family to obtain a college degree, I was particularly susceptible to the lure of prestige and exclusivity.
To be sure, other factors played a role, too. As a high school student, I had become a devotee of the liberal arts and sincerely looked forward to studying the Great Books with esteemed professors. What better place to delve into the classics than at one of the nation’s elite academic institutions?
I also came of age during peak Clintonism, a time when the ideal of neoliberal meritocracy reigned supreme. In this country, it was practically an article of faith that the more prestigious one’s educational attainment, the better one’s life would be. As a true believer, I was prepared to spend years paying off a staggeringly daunting loan balance if that was what it took. I ultimately earned two Ivy League degrees—and I was fortunate to receive generous financial aid.
The 1990s came and went, and so did many of the era’s convictions. Today, I am compelled to ask: Was it worth it?
Timeless reading in a fleeting world.
