When US News develops a rating, they select what's valuable in higher education – when they decide, colleges react.

But, rankings don't measure qualities that are the most beneficial for students. The pandemic has shown how broken this system is.

businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…
When universities prioritize these numbers, especially when rankings are zero-sum ranking against their peers, colleges are incentivized to do things that make the experience worse for students, applicants, and faculty in order to appease that algorithm.
businessinsider.com/personal-finan…
US News and World Report began assigning rankings in the 1980's.

As they began to assign scores to universities using the test scores of admitted students as a proxy for quality, colleges began to desire more and more applicants who tested high.

businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…
Only 20% of the score on its Best Colleges rankings comes from academic instruction and faculty resources.

Paying faculty more can raise the price of colleges. Optimizing class size to appease US News can lead to capping class size.

businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…
When the pandemic set in, everyone was paying full sticker price to go to the same college, Zoom University.

During the pandemic, students needed academic flexibility. Thanks to the rigors of rankings, they did not get it.

businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…
When graduation and retention is 35% of their score, colleges simply could not afford to have students transfer out, or defer their graduation, or pause their enrollment.

businessinsider.com/colleges-unive…
Robert Morse, chief data strategist at US News, said schools will do better in the ranking if they enroll and graduate high proportions of Pell Grant students.

Five percent of the US News score is related to Pell Grant student performance.

businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…
The metrics employed by US News and World Report prove problematic because of the students they advantage and push out.
businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…
An expert said the ranking system is fundamentally broken, even after years of improvements.

Are college rankings useful to applicants, families and students? Tell us what you think. 👇

businessinsider.com/why-college-ra…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Insider

Insider Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @thisisinsider

23 Jul
Parents at ritzy summer camps like Tyler Hill and Camp Modin have been driving staff crazy over camp photos. 📸

Camp directors have responded with stern letters asking parents to chill out. 👇

businessinsider.com/sleepaway-camp… A graphic showing a stressed-out parent and a photo of a chi
Andrew Itkoff spent 30 years as a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist.

But navigating the demands of high-maintenance summer-camp parents, he said, "is the hardest work I have ever done."

businessinsider.com/sleepaway-camp… A graphic that shows a quote from Andrew Itkoff, the photogr
Through the summer, Itkoff works from the crack of dawn till late in the evening, uploading hundreds of photos of campers daily.

Should he miss a kid, he knows it won't be long before parents start calling.

businessinsider.com/sleepaway-camp… A graphic that shows a quote from Andrew Itkoff, the photogr
Read 10 tweets
23 Jul
🏅 The long-awaited #TokyoOlympics have arrived, with today being the #OpeningCeremony.

Follow the thread below for all the highlights from the ceremony, and other fun facts about the @Olympics. insider.com/category/olymp…
🛏 Athletes are staying in the Olympic Village, which boasts a two-floor dining hall and 21 towers to house 11,000 athletes.

The cardboard beds there have already gotten some attention. insider.com/photos-tokyo-o…
💪 The Olympians themselves are looking forward to watching all the teams, sports and events take place after a year-long delay.

Here's what eight current and former Olympians are most excited for. insider.com/olympic-stars-…
Read 16 tweets
18 Jul
This is the definitive oral history of how Donald Trump took over the GOP.

We collected never-before-reported details from Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and 20 other insiders about Trump's tumultuous journey to becoming the party's 2016 presidential nominee.

businessinsider.com/how-trump-took… Graphic shows former President Trump surrounded by other 201
📕 Chapter 1: The escalator.

The most famous escalator ride in American political history was almost an elevator ride.

Team Trump chose the escalator, and that moment would set in motion a 13-month ride that would ultimately ensconce him atop the GOP.

businessinsider.com/how-trump-took… Image shows Donald Trump descending an escalator at Trump To
📕 Chapter 2: Early disasters.

A month later, Trump attacked Sen. John McCain. "He's not a war hero," Trump said.

It proved to be the first of a series of moments early on when it looked like Trump's campaign was over before it had even really begun.

businessinsider.com/how-trump-took… Image shows Sen. John McCain walking down a staircase, surro
Read 8 tweets
17 Jul
Deadly floods swept through Western Europe this week, causing Germany's worst natural disaster in over 50 years.

The waters are finally receding but more than 150 people have died.

insider.com/western-europe…
In Germany, 133 people were dead and hundreds more were still missing as of Saturday.

Rescue workers are continuing their search for survivors.

insider.com/western-europe… Image shows cars strewn acr...
The death toll in Belgium increased to 24.

The country's national crisis center said it's expecting the death toll to increase as authorities continue their rescue efforts.

insider.com/western-europe… Image shows a collapsed hom...
Read 5 tweets
16 Jul
‼️📝 LIVE NOW: Tune in to our weekly Spaces Pop Quiz. We're testing your knowledge of this week's top news stories. 👇
twitter.com/i/spaces/1YqKD…
Q1: @Olivia_Rodrigo went to the White House to make videos promoting what this week?
A: COVID-19 vaccines
#InsiderPopQuiz
businessinsider.com/olivia-rodrigo…
Q2: Virgin Galactic is giving away what in a charity sweepstakes?
A: 2 tickets to space
#InsiderPopQuiz
businessinsider.com/richard-branso…
Read 12 tweets
11 Jul
Millions of millennials, freed from their desk jobs, are working remotely in places like Mexico — and leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

Here’s how.

businessinsider.com/partying-yacht…
Nomads believe that unlike remote workers, they are an extended family, a way of not only experiencing the world but spreading a new model for living.

businessinsider.com/partying-yacht… Image shows a cobbled path lined with palm trees in a tropic
Tulum, Mexico is the "hotspot for digital nomads," says @LonelyPlanet, thanks to TikTokers, YouTubers, and other influencers travelling for the sun, tequila, and ruins.

businessinsider.com/partying-yacht… Illustration shows a man standing on the beach shore, lookin
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(