The origins, development, and influences of James McKeen Cattell's research on the conditions, performance, traits, and other characteristics of preeminent American scientists are discussed. Cattell's role in the development of academic quality rankings is noted. (MSE)

The five-volume Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States, the most authoritative academic quality ranking ever done, is discussed. The Assessment covers 2,699 programs in 32 disciplines and assesses a faculty's reputation for scholarly quality. Improvements in programs' reputations are also discussed. (MLW)

Previous college department rankings based on the evaluations of others in the field are examined for their weaknesses, and the requirements of an adequate institutional ranking system are discussed. (MSE)

Although college rankings published in mass media may not be the best way of comparing colleges, they provide more useful information than accrediting agencies, college catalogs, and most college guides. Administrators, not magazines are to blame for their misuse. Rankings can help motivate programs, departments, and institutions to improve…

The reasons college and university administrators dislike institutional rankings and ratings of academic quality published in the popular press are examined, and college attributes commonly used in the ratings are discussed. Virtues and flaws of the assessments are noted, and variations in the evaluations over time are illustrated in charts. (MSE)

Ranking American colleges, universities, and individual departments according to their academic quality is discussed. Six types of methodology used are identified: reputational rankings; faculty awards, honors, and prizes; citations in citation indexes; alumni achievements; scores of entering students on standardized tests; and institutional…

The full data set on which the "U.S. News and World Report" rankings of doctoral programs were based is presented and discussed. Rankings are for economics, English, history, political science, psychology, and sociology programs. Discussion addresses the methodology used and makes comparisons with National Academy of Sciences 1982…

Three commonly used methodologies for ranking undergraduate and graduate colleges and programs are compared and evaluated. The first is that of Jack Gourman. It uses a scoring system similar to that of the College Board Examinations with scores from 200 to 800, assigned in two areas: one for the strength of academic departments, and one for…