Going to College and Models
In the third chapter of O’Neil’s book Weapons of Math Destruction, she talks about the effect that mathematical models have had on the higher education sector around the world.
In the 80s, a second rate magazine called the U.S. News began ranking colleges based on a certain set of criteria. Some of it quantitative, and some qualitative opinion surveys. This was all in an attempt to boost their readership and climb the ranks to a first rate magazine, and it worked. Students and parents alike were looking for reinforcement into where they should sent their children to school, where they could possibly receive the best education and the best chance of living a prosperous life after graduation.
However, this sort of algorithmic ranking system became a Weapon of Math Destruction. Since many parents and students sought the U.S. News rankings to plan out their applications for college, the system became a sort of self fulfilling prophecies. Top ranked schools received top ranked students and top ranked faculty, which only cemented their positions at the pointy end of the spectrum. Conversely, schools that ranked poorly saw less enrollment, lower quality faculty, and decreased donations from alumni, forcing them further down the rankings.
Additionally, this sort of system was eventually gamed. The criteria for the algorithm were widely known, so colleges and their presidents had it in their best interest to set goals that merely improved those metrics while the rest fell by the wayside. Colleges now were required to heavily look into the backgrounds of their applicants before allowing them admission into their schools. High standardized test scores and high income meant students wouldn’t require financial aid and had the best likelihood of performing strongly in their classes. These factors were accounted for in the newspaper’s ranking systems, so there was no reason to not game the system a bit by only accepting the best they could. Similarly, students that could pay full price were a bastion for the universities. By paying full price and avoiding scholarship and financial aid, they could increase the cost of tuition and accept less students. This made their schools look all the more attractive since test scores were high, classes were pricey, and acceptance rates were low.
This type of ranking system began with innocuous intention: rank the best universities. In that short time span, it accomplished that goal, and did it relatively well, but the result of this type of ranking system caused an entirely different mess outside of their control. Schools now only improved campuses and faculty if it benefitted their ranking, since that is what was bringing in students and alumni dollars. Since all schools were working to game the same variables, they all were working against each other since they were not compared in isolation, but against their direct competitors. This created a never ending rat race, where School A added a $100 million dorm complex, and now School B must follow otherwise they will lose their top students to their competition.
Personally, I can greatly relate to this story as a student that is currently in college. I see it all around me. Students no longer live in glorified broom closets. Now, students live in multi million dollar high rises where rent is skyrocketing past what any college student could meaningfully pay on a part time salary. The rec centers are massive, holding thousands of pieces of equipment, ten basketball courts, and entire swimming complexes. The amount of amenities supplied in colleges these days is bordering on absurd, and the worst part of it all, is that I’m paying for it. All of these expensive buildings cost money, all of these spin classes and pool staff cost money, and all of these dorm buildings and glass paned lecture halls cost money. Sure, some of that money comes from the endowment and alumni, but predominantly funds are being raised through the students who are just trying to receive a strong education to help their chances at living comfortable lives. It is becoming an entire economy in and of itself, and it all started with an innocuous rating system in the 1980s.
