US News and the Scourage of Law School Rankings

It is a popular refrain in the law academic business to criticize the US News rankings.  In fact, they often force law schools to raise spending, maximize the number of full time faculty, improve the faculty-student ratio, and engage in steps designed to increase their reputatonal ranking, a litany of actions that are not exactly harmful.  Nonetheless, unlike say business schools, where multiple rankings exist, the law school business is subject to monopoly pressures.  There is really only one meaningful game in town and it is the rankings issued by US News.

So, the Blog read with interest the decision by US News to shift from weekly to a biweekly publication schedule.  This raises a few interesting possibilities.  First, with weekly news magazines struggling, this may suggest a limited lifespan for US News.  In other words, law schools may escape the tyranny of the rankings through the death of the messenger.  Alternatively, perhaps the week with the rankings will fall in the middle of the biweekly schedule and be skipped. 

For an article on the impact of law blogging on rankings, see Of Empires, Independents, and Captives:  Law Blogging, Law Scholarship, and Law School Rankings.