Why college rankings are unfair
After heavy lobbying from some of the nation鈥檚 most elite institutions of higher education, the President has just聽聽his effort to rank the nation鈥檚 7,000 colleges and universities.
So, with college application season almost upon us, where should aspiring college students and their parents look for advice?
In my view, not聽U.S. News and World Report鈥檚聽annual college guide (out last week). 聽
It鈥檚 analogous to a restaurant guide that gives top ratings to the most expensive establishments that are backed and frequented by the wealthiest gourmands 鈥� and much lower rankings to restaurants with the best food at lower prices that attract the widest range of diners.
Without fail,聽U. S. News聽puts at the top of its list America鈥檚 most exclusive and expensive private universities that admit low numbers and small percentages of students from poor families.
These elite institutions also train a disproportionately large share of the nation鈥檚 investment bankers, corporate chieftains, corporate lawyers, and management consultants.聽
础谤辞耻苍诲听聽of Harvard鈥檚 senior class routinely submits resumes to Wall Street and corporate consulting firms, for example. Close to聽of Princeton鈥檚 2010 graduating class went into finance, down from 46 percent before the financial crisis.聽
And so it goes, through the Ivy League and other elite private institutions.聽
惭别补苍飞丑颈濒别,听U.S. News聽relegates to lower rankings public universities that admit most of the young Americans from poor families who attend college, and which graduate far larger percentages of teachers, social workers, legal aide attorneys, community organizers, and public servants than do the private elite colleges.
US New聽claims its rankings are neutral. Baloney.
They鈥檙e based on such 鈥渘eutral鈥澛犅燼s how selective a college is in its admissions, how much its alumni donate, how much money and other resources its faculty receive, and how much it spends per student.
Colleges especially favored by America鈥檚 wealthy are bound to excel on these criteria. The elite pour money into them because these institutions have educated them and, they hope, will educate their offspring. 聽
A family name engraved in marble on such a campus confers unparalleled prestige.
And because these institutions have educated such a high proportion of America鈥檚 wealthy elite, that elite looks with particular favor on graduates of these institutions in making hiring decisions.
Which helps explain their high and increasing selectivity. As the income and wealth of America鈥檚聽elite has soared over recent decades, the financial benefits of being anointed as a graduate of such an institutions聽have soared in tandem. 聽
罢丑别听U.S. News聽rankings perpetuate the myth that these elite institutions offer the best education 鈥� as if the economic diversity of a student body and the values and career choices of its undergraduates were irrelevant to receiving a high-quality education. 聽
And as if educational excellence could be measured by the size of the wallets supporting it. 聽
Public universities are at an inherent disadvantage on these criteria because they rely on state funding instead of wealthy alumni. They also admit large numbers of students, which often means a lower expenditure per student.
And because public universities have a special responsibility to be accessible to students from every economic class, they take more chances on broader range of promising students, including many who are the first in their families to attend college.
Public universities are the major vehicles of upward mobility in America. They educate聽聽of all college students. The Ivy League educates just聽.
And the best public universities provide a higher-quality education, in my view, than many of the private elites.
Full disclosure: I was educated in private elite universities 鈥� Dartmouth and Yale.聽And I taught for many years at Harvard.聽
These venerable institutions rate at or near the top of the聽U.S. News听谤补苍办颈苍驳蝉.
For the past decade, though, I鈥檝e been teaching at the University of California at Berkeley.
One thing I鈥檝e discovered: My Berkeley students are every bit as bright as the students I met or taught in the Ivies.
Another: More Pell-grant eligible students (a proxy for students from low-income families)聽聽Berkeley than attend the entire Ivy League combined.
And my Berkeley students are more involved in, and more of them are aiming for careers in, public service than any group of students I鈥檝e ever had the privilege of teaching. (Each year, around聽聽Berkeley undergraduates engage in off-campus public service projects and programs.)
In an era when income and wealth are more concentrated at the top than in living memory 鈥� much of it in the hands of Wall Street bankers, corporate executives, and their retainers 鈥撀�U.S. News聽has become a major enabler of American inequality. 聽
We need another guide for ranking colleges 鈥� one that doesn鈥檛 look at the fatness of alumni wallets or the amount spent on each student, but does take account of economic diversity and dedication to public service.
Fortunately, there is one. It鈥檚 a relatively new one, provided by the聽.
My advice: Use it.
