On Tuesday, US News and World Report released its 2017 Best Colleges Rankings. The report – now in its 32nd year – sorts more than 1,800 US schools into categories, then rates them on academic quality. Over the years, the rankings have come under fire from many directions. Some colleges have refused to share data with US News. The White House also expressed concern about the rankings: In 2013, President Obama announced that the government would release its own ratings. (The plan was abandoned in 2015, amid heavy criticism by college and university presidents. Instead, the US Department of Education now has a website that allows students to compare schools on size, location and mission, among other metrics.)

September 13, 2016 ・ From Christian Science Monitor