Posted by Jonathan Adler:
*U.S. News* Measurements of Post-Grad Outcomes:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_12_31-2007_01_06.shtml#1168107885
My colleague (and one-time VC guest bloger), [1]Andrew Morriss has
co-authored an interesting new paper with [2]William Henderson on U.S.
News' use of post-graduation criteria in its annual law school
rankings. This aspect of the rankings, which include employment rates,
average salaries, and bar passage, account for 20 percent of a
school's overall rank, and have been the focus of substantial law
school efforts to increase their ranks. The abstract of the paper,
[3]Measuring Outcomes: Post-Graduation Measures of Success in the U.S.
News & World Report Law School Rankings, is below:
The U.S. News & World Report annual rankings play a key role in
ordering the market for legal education. This Article explores the
impact and evolution of placement and post-graduation data, which
is an important input variable that comprises 20 percent of the
total rankings methodology. In general, we observe clear evidence
that law schools are seeking to maximize each placement and
post-graduation input variable. During the 1997 to 2006 time
period, law schools in all four tiers posted large average gains in
employment rates upon graduation and nine months, which appear to
result from a combination of competition and gaming strategies. Law
schools in tiers 2, 3, and 4 have also increased 1L academic
attrition, which may be an attempt to increase the U.S. News bar
passage score.
.
References
1. http://law.case.edu/faculty/faculty_detail.asp?id=137
2. http://www.law.indiana.edu/directory/wihender.asp
3. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=954604
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