Why does the methodology change most years?
U.S. News refines its methodology for one simple reason: to improve it. Yet, there is an active and ongoing debate about how best to measure quality in education. U.S. News pays close attention to that debate. When new ideas for measuring quality are proposed, we evaluate them carefully and make changes to ensure that we provide the best possible rankings to our readers. For example, over time, the ranking model has put less emphasis on input measures of quality (which look at characteristics of the students, faculty and other resources going into the educational process) and more emphasis on output measures (which look at the results of the educational process). This shift was consistent with the increased emphasis that educators, researchers, and policymakers have placed on results when comparing and evaluating educational programs.
U.S. News refines its methodology for one simple reason: to improve it. Yet, there is an active and ongoing debate about how best to measure quality in education. U.S. News pays close attention to that debate. When new ideas for measuring quality are proposed, we evaluate them carefully and make changes to ensure that we provide the best possible rankings to our readers. For example, over time, the ranking model has put less emphasis on input measures of quality (which look at characteristics of the students, faculty, and other resources going into the educational process) and more emphasis on output measures (which look at the results of the educational process). This shift was consistent with the increased emphasis that educators, researchers, and policymakers have placed on results when comparing and evaluating educational programs.
U.S. News refines its methodology for one simple reason: to improve it. There is an active and ongoing debate about how best to measure quality in education, and U.S. News pays close attention to that debate. When new ideas for measuring quality are proposed, we evaluate them carefully and make changes to ensure that we provide the best possible rankings to our readers. For example, over time, the ranking model has put less emphasis on input measures of quality (which look at characteristics of the students, faculty, and other resources going into the educational process) and more emphasis on output measures (which look at the results of the educational process). This shift was consistent with the increased emphasis that educators, researchers, and policy makers have placed on results when comparing and evaluating educational programs.
