Over- or Under-rated?

In the wake of the US News & World Report rankings (where Alabama is up to #36), this website has published a list of most underrated law schools.

It's an interesting idea, because while so many people put stock in the US News ratings, others take issue with their measurements. For instance, Alabama was a "Top 40" law school when I applied in 2003. Over the next three years, they fell out of the Top 40, and now they're back up to 36. And do I really think there was a large difference in the quality of education received between 2003 and this year? No. So, just what are we measuring?

The rankings are, of course, a catch-22. They interrupt the proper focus for a university or law school because the education of the student becomes secondary to all manner of other factors used in the ranking system. But they have become a necessary evil for administrators, because prospective students, alumni, and employers care about the rankings. If a school falls in the numbers, people want to know why. And if the school rises in the rankings, people get excited. And who has to take the blame or the credit? The school administration.

Incentives are a good thing, IF they are truly motivating schools to better educate their students.