It should have instead been called No Child Gets Ahead. That was certainly our experience. All the time and energy was spent getting kids from under performing the bogie up to the required levels, and little/no time (and no incentive beyond intrinsic motivation) spent supporting academic highfliers.
The gaming you describe is also exactly what’s happened with USNWR rankings. Schools turn these measures into goals/policies . For example: “% classes with 19 kids or fewer.” If you achieve that by hiring more quality faculty and making more sections available, then great! But if, as some schools have done, you simply cap section enrollment at these otherwise arbitrary levels, but made those classes far more difficult to enroll in, then you’ve hit the target but made the underlying situation worse.
And totally agreed with @Lindagaf that the % that the acceptance rate factored into the USNWR formula is both besides the point and dramatically understated the focus and attention these numbers received. And still receive! And are still conflated with prestige.