The popularity of college ranking surveys published by "U.S. News and World Report" and other magazines is indisputable, but the methodologies used to measure the quality of higher education institutions have come under fire by scholars and college officials. Criticisms have focused on methodological flaws, such as failure to consider differences in mission and purpose, but the most specific criticism has been directed against "U.S. News and World Report" and its weighted score process. The "U.S. News" model is said to work against public colleges by valuing continuous undergraduate enrollment, high graduation rates, high spending per student, and high alumni giving rates. Since many published rankings have been perceived as biased, uninformative, or flawed, a number of higher education practitioners encourage parents and prospective students to do their own research on colleges, to view alternative college prep publications, and to view the rankings publications with a critical eye. (Contains 10 references.) (SLD)