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The Daily OrangeN.Y. school sparks debate on accuracy of U.S. News's annual college rankings
By Aleksey Shats
Posted: 4/10/07, 10:28 PM EST Section: News
When choosing which college to attend, high-school students often consider the school's competitiveness and rank. But recent criticism of U.S. News & World Report's college ranking system by Sarah Lawrence College President Michele Myers may give students a different perspective about the rankings.
"U.S. News benefits from our appetite for shortcuts, sound bites and top 10 lists," Myers said in a column published in The Washington Post. "The magazine has parlayed the appearance of unbiased measurements into a profitable bottom line."
After Sarah Lawrence decided to stop using students' SAT scores to evaluate their candidacy, it couldn't provide the SAT data of its applicants, which U.S. News required, said Judith Schwartzstein, director of media and community relations at Sarah Lawrence.
"What they have said is that when there is data missing, whether it is SAT scores or other data, they take the calculated value and deduct on standard deviation from the average score," she said. "In another sense, what President Myers was saying is that they are making up scores for data that is missing."
Syracuse University also believes the U.S. News rankings do not provide a solid guide for students in the college decision process, said Kevin Morrow, director of SU News Services.
"U.S. News rankings are not a perfect science that's involved in collecting information, and they are highly subjective," Morrow said. "We recognize that the U.S. News rankings are not perfect, and U.S. News themselves say that they should not be the only source for students."
Just like other schools' criticism of U.S. News, SU believes some of the important factors that U.S. News doesn't consider in its school evaluations include schools' social environments, academic environments and availability of financial aid, Morrow said.
"In Syracuse," he said, "we have a strong financial aid system and our student affairs provide for any special needs for students."
"U.S. News benefits from our appetite for shortcuts, sound bites and top 10 lists," Myers said in a column published in The Washington Post. "The magazine has parlayed the appearance of unbiased measurements into a profitable bottom line."
After Sarah Lawrence decided to stop using students' SAT scores to evaluate their candidacy, it couldn't provide the SAT data of its applicants, which U.S. News required, said Judith Schwartzstein, director of media and community relations at Sarah Lawrence.
"What they have said is that when there is data missing, whether it is SAT scores or other data, they take the calculated value and deduct on standard deviation from the average score," she said. "In another sense, what President Myers was saying is that they are making up scores for data that is missing."
Syracuse University also believes the U.S. News rankings do not provide a solid guide for students in the college decision process, said Kevin Morrow, director of SU News Services.
"U.S. News rankings are not a perfect science that's involved in collecting information, and they are highly subjective," Morrow said. "We recognize that the U.S. News rankings are not perfect, and U.S. News themselves say that they should not be the only source for students."
Just like other schools' criticism of U.S. News, SU believes some of the important factors that U.S. News doesn't consider in its school evaluations include schools' social environments, academic environments and availability of financial aid, Morrow said.
"In Syracuse," he said, "we have a strong financial aid system and our student affairs provide for any special needs for students."
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