U.S. News 官方发文解答最佳大学排名疑惑

近日，U.S. News首席数据策略师罗伯特•莫尔斯发文就最佳大学排名四点疑惑做出解答，提醒大家不要完全迷信排名。

罗伯特•莫尔斯是U.S. News的首席数据策略师，自1976年以来一直任职于该公司。他为最佳大学和最佳研究生院年度排名制定了一套方法论和民意调查，关注高等教育发展趋势，确保排名能为学生提供最高的分析参考价值。

下面是U.S. News官网全文及翻译：

Debunking Myths About U.S. News Best Colleges

揭密U.S. News最佳大学排名真相

        By Robert Morse, Chief Data Strategist

       罗伯特•莫尔斯，U.S. News首席数据策略师

OUR MISSION AT U.S. News is to help students and their families through the college search process by providing the best available data and information as they make the important, and costly, decision of where to go to college. This is why we publish content to guide prospective students through preparing for standardized tests, paying for college, choosing a major and more, in addition to the annual U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.

我们在U.S. News的任务就是当学生及其家人做出去哪所大学这个重要且费时的决定时，帮助他们在大学申请的选校阶段提供最有用的数据和信息。这就是我们每年发布完全美最佳大学排名后，还会为学生提供如何准备标化考试、如何支付大学学费和如何选择专业等指南。

Over the three decades we’ve evaluated schools, we’ve received varied feedback on the rankings – including that prospective students take the rankings seriously when applying for college. We appreciate that authority we’ve earned in the education rankings space, and we understand the responsibility that comes with that authority.

过去三十年来，我们对这些学校进行评估，同时也收到了各种有关排名的反馈信息，包括即将开始申请的学生在申请大学时如何看重这项排名。我们非常荣幸能够在学校排名这个领域获得权威，我们也意识到这个权威所带来的责任。

With the 2020 edition of U.S. News Best Colleges around the corner, now is a good time to clear up misconceptions that abound regarding our company’s flagship ranking. Some of the more common myths say that schools improve their rank by rejecting large numbers of applicants; that we designed the rankings to be the only factor in your college decision; that the rankings are responsible for schools submitting incorrect data; or that the rankings measure the wrong things. These are not true.

在即将发布2020年全美最佳大学之际，也是向大家解释对有关我们排名产生误解的好时机。这些常见的误解包括：有人认为大学通过拒绝更多的申请者来提高自己的排名；有人认为我们的目的是让这份排名成为你选择大学的唯一决定因素；有人认为这份排名中的学校提交了错误数据；还有人认为排名里统计了一些不该统计的数据。这些都不是真的！

Myth: You should choose your college based solely on the rankings.

误区：仅仅参考此排名来选择学校

The rankings are a start, not the answer. They should be used as one tool in anyone’s college search process. We’ve always encouraged prospective students to use the rankings to help find their best fit. That’s part of why we don’t just rank the top five, top 10 or even top 50 schools. Rather, we rank nearly 1,400 schools in order to provide the most comprehensive and helpful information for students. The rankings are meant to be a jumping-off point to create an initial list of schools, narrow down that list and then compare overall academic quality.

这份排名只是择校阶段的开始，而不是最终结果。它只是大家在择校过程中的一个工具。我们一直鼓励学生利用这项排名帮助他们找到最适合自己的学校。这也是我们不单单对前五、前十、甚至前五十的学校进行排名的一部分原因。

Myth: The rankings measure the wrong aspects of higher education.

误区：此排名涵盖高等教育中的误区

The U.S. News Best Colleges rankings measure academic excellence. In doing so, we consider a successful school to be one that retains and graduates its students. That is why our rankings weigh outcomes at 35% of the methodology – more than any other metric. These outcomes include measures like social mobility, which rewards schools that are successful at enrolling and graduating students from low-income households. The most successful schools are those that educate and graduate all of their students, regardless of background.

U.S. News最佳大学排名评估的是学术优异度。为了能更好地进行评估，我们将成功的大学定义为能够留住学生并能保证学生毕业率的学校。这就是在这项排名所评估的指标中学术成果占比35%，比其他指标都高的原因。这些指标包括社会流动，该指标是奖励那些招收了来自贫困家庭的学生，并让他们成功毕业的学校。最成功的学校是那些不管学生的背景如何，既能教育学生，又能保证毕业率的学校。

Additionally, the aim of the rankings is to expose students and their families to the broad range of higher education options available. Nearly 90% of people visiting U.S. News Best Colleges are looking at schools beyond the top 10.

此外，此排名的目的是让学生和家长看到高等教育的更多选择。将近90%的人在U.S. News最佳大学网站浏览的是前十以外的学校。

Myth: Schools can boost their rank in Best Colleges by rejecting more applicants.

误区：学校可以通过拒绝更多申请者来提升排名

As of the 2019 U.S. News Best Colleges edition published in 2018, acceptance rate is not a factor in the methodology. Schools can’t rise in rank by admitting fewer students. Prior to 2018, acceptance rate accounted for less than 2% of the methodology, and reducing the number of acceptances wouldn’t have caused a school to rise in the ranking.

2018年发布的2019全美最佳大学排名中，录取率并不是排名会评估的指标。学校并不能通过录取更少的学生来提升排名。2018年之前，录取率在评估体系中也只占比不到2%，因此减少录取学生数量也不能提高排名。

Myth: The rankings encourage schools to submit incorrect data in order to do better in the rankings.

误区：U.S. News鼓励学校提交伪造数据来获得更高排名

Misreporting is rare, and U.S. News takes it very seriously. Schools know that if they submit incorrect data to inflate their rank, they will be removed from the ranking and listed as unranked. Inaccurate data does not just hurt a school’s standing in our rankings; it hurts prospective and current students who want accurate information. U.S. News counts on schools to be honest and transparent in their data reporting.

伪造数据是很少见，并且U.S. News会严肃对待此类事件。学校也知道如果他们通过提交伪造数据来提高排名，就会被U.S. News从排名中除名，并被列为“无排名”的学校。不准确的数据不仅会对排名有影响，也对那些想要利用准确排名的学生不公平。U.S. News依赖于学校提交真实数据的诚信度和透明度。

Additionally, as better, comparable data become available, we’ve updated the methodology. Our rankings formula will continue to evolve as we obtain access to more data that are attainable and specifically related to academic excellence. And we’ll continue the work we began more than 30 years ago – providing prospective students with reliable information on the range of higher education options available to them.

此外，现在数据可以进行交叉对比，我们也更新了排名评估方法，并且会随着接触到更多可获得的、有关学术优异度的信息而不断变化。我们也会继续这项已经开展30年的工作—为未来的学生提供有关高等教育选择的可靠信息。