<p>Part of the problem is that we don’t teach much about the resolution of a measuring instrument in school anymore. USNWR does not report the ability of its survey to measure a difference. I was recently treated for a herniated disc with an injection. After 24 hours I texted the doctor that did it that I had 90% pain relief but that if was sitting next to the PhD in their department my relief was 87.478% and that I had rounded up. This is a science joke and I got a good laugh from their department. I couldn’t possibly determine my pain relief to that degree of accuracy. 90% is probably better than 70% but 87% is not necessarily better than 86%. I’m just not that accurate. So, the ratings are probably accurate but to a much lower degree than the way USNWR uses them. If your college is in the top 25 it is probably better than one in the 100-200 range, but that is not how teenagers read this.
Law School is the only place that the rankings make a difference but that is because the law firms actually take them seriously. They should make lawyers take more lab science in college.</p>