Description
Book SynopsisSome colleges will do anything to improve their national ranking. That can be bad for their studentsand for higher education. Since U.S. News & World Report first published a college ranking in 1983, the rankings industry has become a self-appointed judge, declaring winners and losers among America's colleges and universities. In this revealing account, Colin Diver shows how popular rankings have induced college applicants to focus solely on pedigree and prestige, while tempting educators to sacrifice academic integrity for short-term competitive advantage. By forcing colleges into standardized best-college hierarchies, he argues, rankings have threatened the institutional diversity, intellectual rigor, and social mobility that is the genius of American higher education. As a former university administrator who refused to play the game, Diver leads his readers on an engaging journey through the mysteries of college rankings, admissions, financial aid, spending policies, and academi
Trade ReviewIf you are buying a car or a refrigerator, a Consumer Reports–style rankings system works just fine. But, as Diver points out, there is no right answer when it comes to choosing a college—for all the fancy formulas the rankings companies trot out, they offer faux science.
—David Kirp,
The NationOffers a harsh critique of the rankings industry and its impact on undergraduate colleges and law schools.
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Inside Higher EdBreaking Ranks sweeps away whatever shreds of credibility the rankings business retains.
—Michael Thaddeus,
CNNA spirited, often witty critique of the college ranking industry.
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ForbesBreaking Ranks is more than just an exposé: Diver also offers advice on how families can choose schools that are the best match for their aspiring student.17
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Town & CountryA useful primer on the pros and cons of college rankings.
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Washington MonthlyDiver likens 'the homogenizing effect of rankings' on diverse colleges and universities to a Procrustean bed: not a good way to find a fit.He is conversant with all the data, and teases apart superficial measures of, say, graduate indebtedness....If educators cannot ignore the rankings, he advises, at least they can junk worthless peer rankings, resist publicizing illegitimate ones, and make accessible the full range of data on their institutions.
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Harvard MagazineA lucid and comprehensive critique of the 'rankings industry'.[Diver's] treatment of the topic is superb, and I recommend it to any readers who remain undecided about whether ranking colleges is a good idea.
—Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Elsevier ConnectThe book is well-structured, [Diver's] arguments are well-built, and his writing style is very accessible....What you might not expect is his honesty....Getting the opportunity to watch a university president think these matters through; to see the rationale that led to them taking a stand, and the impact that taking that stand had on their institution is gold-dust.
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WonkHEIn
Breaking Ranks, Diver walks readers through the basics of the ranking industry, its history, its growth, and the distortions that arise as institutions devise strategies to improve their positions, including the temptation to misrepresent their figures....Chapters are short and highly readable.
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Change: The Magazine of Higher LearningThis book could hardly be timelier...This is a highly researched and fascinating book on the manipulative side of higher ed.
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Bookmarked ReadersA well-written, well-referenced book...Diver has written an excellent analysis of how rankings became so powerful and has clearly identified why they are problematic and do not measure what they claim to. He describes why and how rankings have become so pervasive in the US and makes a strong argument for rejecting the rankings industry as it stands. He also proposes some ways of actually measuring the quality of education institutions provide.
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Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly CommunicationTable of ContentsPreface
Prologue
Part I. The College Ranking Industry: From Curiosity, to Scorekeeper, to Rankocracy
Chapter 1. Apples, Oranges, and Refrigerators: Should Colleges Be Ranked?
Chapter 2. Meet the Ranking Industry's 800-Pound Gorilla—and Its Cousins
Chapter 3. Making "Best-College Stew": A Recipe for Disaster?
Chapter 4. Who Cares about Rankings? Applicants Do!
Chapter 5. Resist or Embrace: Educators' Responses to Rankings
Chapter 6. Garbage In? The Misreporting of Rankings Data
Part II. The Prestige Treadmill: Reputation, Wealth, and Rankings
Chapter 7. Conferring Pedigree: The Educational Aristocracy
Chapter 8. Measuring Prestige by Popularity Poll: The Opinions of "Experts"
Chapter 9. The Wealth of Institutions: What Is a College Worth?
Chapter 10. The Spending Rat Race: Maximizing Per-Student Subsidy
Part III. The Gatekeepers: Judging Colleges by Who Gets In and Who Doesn't
Chapter 11. The Best and the Brightest: Student Selectivity and College Rankings
Chapter 12. SAT: The Elephant in the Admissions Office, and in the Rankings
Chapter 13. Chasing High SAT Scores: The Games Colleges Play
Chapter 14. Intercollegiate Admissions Competition: Winners and Losers
Chapter 15. Affirmative Inaction: Race, Ethnicity, and Rankings
Part IV. Higher Goals for Higher Education: Outcomes, Value Added, and the Public Good
Chapter 16. Inside the Black Box: Can Learning Gains Be Measured?
Chapter 17. Proxies for Learning Outcomes: Instructional Content and Quality
Chapter 18. Crossing the Finish Line: Ranking Schools by Graduation Rates
Chapter 19. Making a Living: The Winding Road from College to Career
Chapter 20. Social Immobility: College Rankings and the American Dream
Chapter 21. Making a Life: The Art of Being Human
Conclusion. Breaking the Rankocracy's Grip
Appendix. Eight Schools, a Thousand Flowers . . .
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
