Let's make sure you all have full context for what the rankings are and aren't . . . a thread
(spoiler: they are measures of the wealth and brand position of the institution).
(spoiler: they are measures of the wealth and brand position of the institution).
First, a lil context and history.
Rankings have never been done by object governmental agencies.
In 1910 the fed attempted a ranking at the request of AAU but a draft leaked, created a stink, and Taft quashed the release by exec order.
gife.issuelab.org/resources/3199…
Rankings have never been done by object governmental agencies.
In 1910 the fed attempted a ranking at the request of AAU but a draft leaked, created a stink, and Taft quashed the release by exec order.
gife.issuelab.org/resources/3199…
Reputational rankings rose in popularity at magazines. It was a way to sell mags. There was no govermental of political inteference to force transparency or changes.
1924 – NC Association of Schools and Colleges ask for faculty opinion
1934 – American Council of Education
1924 – NC Association of Schools and Colleges ask for faculty opinion
1934 – American Council of Education
With the rise of testing some rankings used test scores. Another pseudo objective numerical system.
1960 - Life magazine ranked by test scores alone
Some of these comments are hysterical.
"Duke: Similar to Yale, but very much in need of the vines and ivy."
1960 - Life magazine ranked by test scores alone
Some of these comments are hysterical.
"Duke: Similar to Yale, but very much in need of the vines and ivy."
US News's first ranking had 1 factor (peer assessment) and only ranked 14 schools.
The claims to objectivity in the rankings is a farse.
Bob choose the criteria, Bob chooses the weights, Bob chooses which schools are disqualified from consideration.
Rankings are numerical subjectivity laundered through mathematical analysis.
Bob choose the criteria, Bob chooses the weights, Bob chooses which schools are disqualified from consideration.
Rankings are numerical subjectivity laundered through mathematical analysis.
Why in a ranking of academic institutions are so many factors simply a quantification of the wealth of the student's family or the institution?
Even the "student excellence" factors are highly correlated to family income.
Even the "student excellence" factors are highly correlated to family income.
It's interesting that, despite increasing from 13 to 150+ schools and increasing from 1 to 6+ factors, there's been very little change in those judged "top".
Maybe the methodology is designed to keep things the same.
Maybe the methodology is designed to keep things the same.
The biggest drops seem to always happen to public schools. I wonder why that is?
Could there have been large differences in the financial investment in public colleges since 1984?
Could there have been large differences in the financial investment in public colleges since 1984?
USNews seems to intentionally make it difficult to see year to year changes.
Thankfully @profandyreiter has compiled a spreadsheet of the rankings going back to the start!
It's a free download that has IPEDs numbers and useful context.
andyreiter.com/datasets/
Thankfully @profandyreiter has compiled a spreadsheet of the rankings going back to the start!
It's a free download that has IPEDs numbers and useful context.
andyreiter.com/datasets/
I'm sure there is lots more to say but I'll summarize it all with ... rankings are like movie reviews ... and about as useful.
There is lots of research and journalism on why rankings are terrible. I'll thread a few
bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/2…
bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/2…
Your College Isn't as Great as You Think theatlantic.com/business/archi…
‘U.S. News’ and its ilk embrace faux-precise formulas riven with statistical misconceptions.
chronicle.com/article/the-ra…
chronicle.com/article/the-ra…
Do the 'U.S. News' Rankings Rely on Dubious Data? chronicle.com/article/the-fa…
Me on the @HaveYouHeardPod talking about "The brutal pessimism of school rankings and ratings"
soundcloud.com/haveyouheardpo…
soundcloud.com/haveyouheardpo…
Let's not forget the great work by Reed exposing the rankings biases
Students Find Glaring Discrepancy in US News Rankings reed.edu/reed-magazine/…
Students Find Glaring Discrepancy in US News Rankings reed.edu/reed-magazine/…
Also a few other places for some good information
This thread by @James_S_Murphy slaps (as the kids say):
This thread by @James_S_Murphy slaps (as the kids say):
https://twitter.com/James_S_Murphy/status/1338638253856071681?s=20&t=ipk0rHIEyCVm5b3fqPYMyQ
Let's thread a few better rankings
That Murphy guy also works for @EdReformNowUSA and produced a ranking of social mobility elevators, places that help lift students up!
https://twitter.com/James_S_Murphy/status/1333866884647841793?s=20&t=ipk0rHIEyCVm5b3fqPYMyQ
Also @ThirdWayEDU, a think thank that i dig the work of did a ranking that worth checking out.
Their guy, @mikeitzkowitz also was once in charge of College Scorecard.
https://twitter.com/mikeitzkowitz/status/1569351882941792257?s=20&t=ipk0rHIEyCVm5b3fqPYMyQ
Their guy, @mikeitzkowitz also was once in charge of College Scorecard.
I'm going to add Money's rankings but only because they let you build your own ranking!
money.com/best-colleges/…
money.com/best-colleges/…
I'm going to include the Washington Monthly rankings for 2 reasons
1. @rkelchen is a thoughtful person and creates (maybe created) this.
2. I dig their methological descriptions
washingtonmonthly.com/2022-college-g…
1. @rkelchen is a thoughtful person and creates (maybe created) this.
2. I dig their methological descriptions
washingtonmonthly.com/2022-college-g…
Since it was brought to my attention USN also does an HBCU ranking... let's dig in
Always, always, always read #ranking methodologies .... and in this case the methodology for HBCUs is the same as the overall methodology
So USN thinks there is nothing different in how we should evaluate HBCUs, just rank them against each other
So USN thinks there is nothing different in how we should evaluate HBCUs, just rank them against each other
Since we talking methodologies, I did this this dive into Princeton Reviews "methodology"
https://twitter.com/akilbello/status/1039217704870313985?s=20&t=zjrxXRjHX-yCQjNT_63rCQ
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