In Unusual Letter, Democratic Senators Ask ‘U.S. News’ to Change Emphasis of College Rankings

A handful of Democratic senators want an influential ranker of colleges to reconsider what’s important in higher education.

Specifically, the six senators wrote in a letter to U.S. News & World Report, compiler of the most prominent college rankings in the country, that more weight should be given to institutions that open their doors to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

“We urge U.S. News to use its influential platform to better align its rankings with the three longstanding goals behind federal financial aid: improving college access, supporting student success, and providing every talented student a pathway to economic stability and meaningful participation in our country’s economic, social, and civic life,” they wrote in the letter, released on Monday.

The letter signers are Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Cory A. Booker of New Jersey, Christopher A. Coons of Delaware, Kamala D. Harris of California, Chris S. Murphy of Connecticut, and Brian E. Schatz of Hawaii. Booker and Harris have been mentioned as possible contenders for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election.

But the senators’ unusual call — how often do lawmakers suggest that a publication change its editorial practices? — reflects increasing national pressure for higher education to do more for low-income students. Washington Monthly, for example, publishes a set of college rankings partly based on what the institutions “are doing for the country,” which includes recruiting and ensuring the graduation of low-income students.

College leaders, too, have warned that the nation’s obsessive focus on the ubiquitous rankings may carry significant costs. U.S. News appears to have gotten the message, at least in part. It tweaked this year’s rankings to give greater weight to the graduation rates of students who receive Pell Grants. But the new measures are only a sliver of the statistics that determine an institution’s ranking.

The magazine also removed from the formula a college’s acceptance rate and reduced the importance of students’ standardized-test scores and high-school class standing, the type of markers more commonly associated with students who come from wealthier families.

The senators acknowledged the “modest improvements” the publication had made in its ranking formula, but wrote that more needed to be done.

“We fear U.S. News continues to create a perverse incentive for schools to adopt or maintain policies that perpetuate social and economic inequalities,” they wrote.

The senators also called on the publication to better recognize community colleges and minority-serving institutions that “serve as our country’s engines of social mobility and incent others to do so.”

Chris Quintana is a staff reporter. Follow him on Twitter @cquintanadc or email him at chris.quintana@chronicle.com.