The ladder of fame
Aug 24th 2006 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition
ON AUGUST 18th US News World Report r________① its 2007 rankings of Americas top colleges. The survey began in 1983 as a simple straw poll, when the magazine asked 662 college presidents to identify the countrys best places of learning. It has since mutated into an annual ordeal for reputable universities. (1)A strong showing in the rankings spurs student interest and alumni giving; a slip has grave consequences.
University administrators deeply dislike the survey. (2)Many reject the idea that schools can be stacked up against one another in any meaningful way. And the surveys methodology is s________②. The rankings are still based partly on peer evaluations. They compare rates of alumni giving, which has little to do with the transmission of knowledge. Besides, the magazines data are supplied by the schools and uncorroborated.
(3)But whether the rankings are fair is beside the point, because they are wildly influential. In the 1983 survey barely half of the presidents approached bothered to respond. Today, only a handful dare abstain.
Most, in fact, do more than simply fill out the survey. Competition between colleges for top students is increasing, partly because of the very p________③ of rankings. Colin Diver, the president of Reed College in Oregon, considers that(4)rankings create powerful incentives to manipulate data and distort institutional behaviour.
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