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Revision as of 23:49, 18 April 2006 by Xoxohthblaster (talk | contribs) (rv -- see top fourteen deletion debate -- neologism)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Law School Rankings are a specific subset of College and university rankings that deal specifically with law schools. Like college and university rankings, Law School Rankings can be based on subjectively perceived "quality," on some combination of empirical statistics, or on surveys of educators, scholars, students, prospective students, or others. Such rankings are often consulted by prospective students as they choose which schools they will apply to or which school they will attend.
The most recognized ranking of Law Schools is the annual Top Graduate Schools version from US News & World Reports magazine. Beyond this popular and mainstream list, there are numerous other rankings of law schools, which include:
- Thomas E. Brennan's "Judging the Law Schools"
- Leiter Rankings
- Sullivan's Law School Job Placement Report
- Indiana University's "The Ranking Game"
- Thomas M. Cooley's "Judging the Law Schools"
Criticisms of Law School Rankings
The or ABA has consistently refused to support or participate in law school rankings. Likewise, the has similarly shown opposition to rankings. Among the criticisms of law school rankings is that they are arbirtary in the characteristics they measure and the value given to each one. Another complaint is that a prospective law student should take into account the "fit" and appropriateness of each school himself, and that there is thus not a "one size fits all" ranking. Others complain that common rankings shortchange schools due to geographical or demographical reasons. Some of the complaints are outlined in an ABA article.
Power and Importance of Law School Rankings
Despite these criticisms, Law School Rankings in general and those by US News in particular play a very dramatic role in the world of legal eduction. When a schools ranking drops, fewer admitted applicants accept spots at the school. Likewise, when a schools rises in the rankings, the school often accidentally overenrolls. When rankings drop, people get fired. This pressure has also resulted in various schools "gaming the rankings." Some law schools reject applicants whose high LSAT scores indicate that they'll probably go elsewhere anyway, in order to appear more selective. Other schools, in an attempt to increase the amount of money spent per student, increase tuition and return it to the students as financial aid.
The Rankings by US News and World Report
As is noted above, the most recognized rankings are those by US News and World Report. The Law School Rankings are organized into three main sections: The first is a "Top 100" that lists the top hundred schools in order from highest ranked to lowest ranked. After that, US News groups the remaining 80 accredited law schools into two roughly unranked groups called "Third Tier" and "Fourth Tier" (note that the Top 100 includes both the first and second "tier").
Methodology
Each school is assigned an overall rank, which is normalized so that it is out of 100. This rank takes into account Quality Assesment (measured by opinion surveys), Selectivity (measured by incoming student profiles and the acceptance rate), Placement Success (measured by bar passage and employment rates), Faculty Resources (measured by expenditures, library volumes, and student/faculty ratio). These factors are combined in a weighted average to arrive at the Overall score.
Other Rankings
The annual issue also includes special rankings of specific programs, including Clinical Training and Dispute Resolution. These are based more on opinion surveys.
Alternatives to the US News Rankings
There are a number of alternative Law School Rankings that have been prepared, often in response to those by US News. The Internet Legal Research Group has compiled links and background on many of these rankings at their website.
Leiter Rankings
Brian Leiter, a law professor at University of Texas School of Law, has prepared a set of various rankings that he dubs Leiter's Law School Rankings. These various rankings judge schools on factors similar to those used by US News--like incoming student LSAT/GPA profiles--but also on faculty reputation and scholarly research.
Hylton Rankings
Another new set of rankings which has prompted attention recently is the Hylton Rankings. Using US News data "without the clutter", the survey measures only LSAT (converted median) and peer assessment (by law professors). It should be noted that the T14 schools, though ordered differently, remain the same peer set.
Cooley Rankings
Thomas M. Cooley School of Law, a school consistently placed in the fourth tier by US News due to its low reputations scores and abysmal placement rates, struck back by creating its own set of rankings. This ranking measures things such as library square footage and number of minority students, among dozens of other measures. This controversial list places Cooley above such prestigious law schools as Stanford and University of Chicago.
References
- "Dean's Speak Out" against rankings on the LSAC Website
- | ABA website s.v. "Rating of Law Schools"
- See, for example, books by Richard Montauk, Anna Ivey, Robert H. Miller, and Susan Estrich
- e.g. University of Dayton Prelaw Advising Website and an SUNY Binghamton press release
- Biographies of Current Supreme Court Justices (PDF)
- {{note|fxrank} http://www.deloggio.com/usnews/usnews.htm
- American Bar Association Website and "The Interplay between Law School Rankings, Reputations, and Resource Allocation"