Pulp magazines: US News, Newsweek

The US News College rankings are dangerous: they carry too much
weight, and no number can encapsulate a multi-dimensional thing
(beyond pareto optimum)

EG, choosing between
- 5 chocolate cupcakes and 2 brownies
- 2 chocolate cupcakes and 5 brownies
...depends on which you like more -- and maybe you don't even like
chocolate!
(familiarity with multi-variable functions)

the perils of criteria:
one can select whatever criteria one wants -- and it's easier to
choose numerical criteria (like average class size) than meaningful,
qualitative ones: teacher quality, appropriateness of class size
(e.g., big lecture classes are fine, for LECTURING!!!)

...and the problem with aspiring to a number:
US News values what % of students accept the college "yield"
and what percentage of applicants are denied "selectiveness",
which is stupid.
Students should ideally apply to colleges that they want to go to, and
can expect to get into/be a good fit for.

Trying to increase these numbers results in colleges encouraging
students to apply to too many/too hard colleges, and has been a factor
(not the only one, of course) in Early Decision programs.

Think also of "teaching to the test"

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Here's another one:
"America's Best Highschools"
(Newsweek, 2003 May?)

...excluding private schools and magnet schools.
The criteria?
Average number of AP/IB exams taken.
WTF?????

The real story, the importance of AP exams and their growing
influence, is interesting enough -- why shackle it to bogus numbers?
(obviously, to get a catchier story)