A Different Kind of College Rankings

When choosing a college, students and families often turn to popular rankings to help inform their decisions. Rather than focus on test scores and how difficult it is to gain entry, The Washington Monthly gives schools points for factors that benefit society as well as individual students, like upward mobility for low-income graduates and encouraging civic engagement on campus and after graduation. Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris discusses the new rankings, including how the formula might change next year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Which colleges were the surprise top performers in this year’s rankings? Why are relatively few programs doing well at graduating Black students into well-paying jobs in their chosen majors? What are some successful approaches schools are taking to boost voter registration among new students? Glastris also explains how reporters make better use of the data available from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard?