How Criticism Actually Strengthens Rankings
Francie Diep, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Why do college rankings endure? Two German sociologists put forth a provocative hypothesis: that criticism ultimately strengthens rankers, who respond by modifying their work rather than abandoning it, which ends up reinforcing their legitimacy.
It’s like having the same argument with your spouse over who should do the dishes. In the end, it just reaffirms each of your places in the relationship, contend Julian Hamann and Leopold Ringel. |