Our selection of recent political cartoons.
The Editors
Posted inEconomy, Magazine, November/December 2013
Introduction: Where Is Opportunity in America?
Once upon a time, proponents of the idea of “American exceptionalism” used to point to Europe’s high youth unemployment rates as an object lesson. See what happens, they’d lecture, when countries have inflexible labor markets and cradle-to-grave social benefits? But an inconvenient truth has emerged. The youth unemployment rate in the United States is now […]
Posted inHigher Education, Magazine, September/October 2013
A Note on Methodology: 4-Year Colleges and Universities
There are two primary goals to our methodology. First, we considered no single category to be more important than any other. Second, the final rankings needed to reflect excellence across the full breadth of our measures, rather than reward an exceptionally high focus on, say, research. Thus, all three main categories were weighted equally when […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education, Magazine, September/October 2013
A Note on Methodology: Community Colleges
The Washington Monthly ranking of America’s best community colleges is based on two sources of information: the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and U.S. Department of Education measures of student retention and completion. The CCSSE survey is managed by a nonprofit organization of the same name housed at the University of Texas at […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education, Magazine, September/October 2013
Introduction: A Different Kind of College Ranking
To see our full list of rankings, click here. Eight years ago, the Washington Monthly published its first annual college rankings. Back in 2005, America was still operating under a compact with its citizens, colleges, and universities that had stood for the better part of the previous hundred years. The taxpayers would invest in basic […]
Posted inMagazine, Politics, September/October 2013
Talk of the Toons
A selection of recent political cartoons.
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
An Explanation of our Categories: Master’s Universities and Baccalaureate Colleges
OVERALL SCORE: Overall score represents the combined score of our three metrics—social mobility, research, and service—where the highest is scaled to 100 and the lowest is 0. Each metric is weighted equally. SOCIAL MOBILITY: The first column shows the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants. The second shows the predicted rate of graduation (based on […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
An Explanation of our Categories: Liberal Arts Colleges
OVERALL SCORE: Overall score represents the combined score of our three metrics—social mobility, research, and service—where the highest is 100 and the lowest is 0. Each metric is weighted equally. SOCIAL MOBILITY: The first column shows the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants. The second shows the predicted rate of graduation (based on incoming SAT […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
An Explanation of Our Categories: National Universities
OVERALL SCORE: Overall score represents the combined score of our three metrics—social mobility, research, and service—where the highest is 100 and the lowest is 0. Each metric is weighted equally. SOCIAL MOBILITY: The first column shows the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants. The second shows the predicted rate of graduation (based on incoming SAT […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
The 2012 College Rankings
Welcome to the Washington Monthly College Guide and Rankings. Unlike U.S. News and World Report and similar guides, this one asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country. Are they educating low-income students, or just catering to the affluent? Are they improving the quality of their teaching, […]
