Ranking-skolastikkens storhed og fald?

STØVMIDERNES DANS: Inside Higher Education har i dag (her) en historie om at mange universitetsrektorer i USA ikke længere gider at svare på de spørgsmål som medie-virksomheder som U.S. News & World Report hver år stiller om andre højere uddannelsesinstitutioners omdømme, for at producere de årlige rankings af amerikanske universiteter. Deltagelsen er nu nede på 44%,

"At one point, participation rates were as high as 67 percent; drops since then have led many critics to argue that whatever value the evaluations had with a high participation rate was diminished by the falling numbers."

En udbredt træthed over rankings mærkes, inkl. den evaluerende diskussion af rankings. Uddannelsesforskeren Davydd J. Greenwood fra Cornell University kommenterer historien således: "I would file this under the category: How many dust mites can dance on the back of a flea that is dancing on the head of an angel who is dancing on the head of a pin?"