The Birth of the College Rankings

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Looking at the rankings 1983-present, the rankings are much more volatile than the colleges' reputations have been. There are some blatant errors, like the low rankings for U Penn and U Michigan.
The first US college rankings, by Cattell in the 1906 edition of American Men of Science, were
1 harvard
2 columbia
3 university of chicago
4 yale
5 johns hopkins
6 cornell
7 university of pennsylvania
Except for the omission of Princeton and MIT, these rankings are still at least as accurate today as the 2011 US News rankings.
The tremendous stability of university rankings over time suggests that university reputations are not based on the quality of their education. Corporations never have such steady quality over time, despite having the same advantages from good reputation.

Phil Goetz of VA 8:40PM October 22, 2011

I am interested in knowing where the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA) ranked in 1990 (or thereabouts) among homophobic colleges in the U.S. And where does it rank today?
Thanks,
James Nickoloff
Associate Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA 01610

James Nickoloff of MA 7:32PM April 18, 2010

While I'm at it, may I also comment on your laudable effort to establish a list of the best public high schools in the country.
I bet I am not alone in wishing you would do another that listed [or included] the best private high schools in America. Among those would certainly be some of the fabled private high schools on the east coast, as well as a goodly number of Jesuit high schools (with all due respect to the Christian Brothers and the
Domenicans and the duly renowned place they hold in American intellectual life).
What may be the finest high school in the nation that no one hears about is the Jesuits' St. Louis University High School, with ACT scores so high that the ACT folks are almost ready to establish a trophy in its name. Routinely the school
has as many national merit honorees as large public school districts. The school does all this with a commitment to service and diversity that is the envy of those who work in secondary education. This year it celebrates its 190th birthday, having been founded in 1818. Needless to say, its atmosphere exudes tradition and a nearly two century long commitment to excellence.
One amazing anecdote: on my way back for my 50th reunion in 2003, having recently read Undaunted Courage, I started doing the math about Sacagewea's child. As I began to ask an elderly Jesuit the obvious question, he stopped me with a raised hand, and said "Yes, we did the research. Sacagewea's child did enter the school at age 14, and was a member of its first graduating class."
To this day I am not sure if having a fellow high school alum who was on the Lewis and Clark expedition makes one feel younger or older!

Dr. Curtis Bernard Schmidt of CO 4:47PM June 03, 2008

Could you make available the Best Colleges rankings for the last twenty years?
Some colleges have nearly always been in the top ten, while one that I am interested in has I believe ranged from the low teens to the low thirties.
It would be very helpful to have this information published for at least the top 50 colleges, and the top 50 universities.
Some complain that your rankings always favor the same schools. Yet, as one example, Washington University of St. Louis has vaulted from the 20's to near or in the top ten, in a relatively short time. Such information tells me, at least, which
colleges or universities are more serious about raising their level of academic excellence.
It would be helpful if you could publish this at a locale on your site that is easily accessible by search engines -- and also as free information. After all, you don't have to charge for every fruit borne from the tree you planted [though given the price of gas it would be tempting to do so.

Dr. Curtis Bernard Schmidt of CO 4:23PM June 03, 2008

Thank you for an informative article. I wish U.S. News much success in establishing its Best High Schools List as the most credible in the nation. Competition and accountability are driving forces which make this country great. When public schools promote themselves based on a ranking on a national list, I would rather refer to a list which bases its rankings on student outcomes instead of "seats filled". I think it is fairly common knowledge that property values are directly tied to public perception of school district quality and therefore, how Americans decide where to invest in a home can actually be influenced by where a school places on your list.

Observer of NY 12:34PM May 22, 2008