Why Consumer Reports Should Rate Law Schools

Jeff Sovern with a great idea for Consumer Reports to challenge the US News monopoly on law school (and other school?) rankings:

Consumer Reports should rate law schools, and perhaps other schools too, for the following four reasons:

First, the existing U.S. News rankings do not adequately measure law schools from the perspective of consumers, which in the case of law schools consists of law students and applicants to law schools. The U.S. News rankings take into account information that has little bearing on the quality of education students receive. ...

Second, Consumer Reports has the credibility needed to challenge U.S. News’s hegemony in rating schools. ...

Third, Consumer Reports could use the money. U.S. News’s best-selling issue is reportedly its school ratings issue. Presumably, if Consumer Reports started rating schools, copies of its school ratings issue would also sell well. The non-profit Consumer Reports could expect to plow the receipts back into its other product rating activities, which would benefit consumers. ...

Fourth, it would improve legal education. ... Law schools and students would be better off ... if U.S. News did not have a monopoly on ranking law schools, and Consumer Reports is one publication that could challenge that monopoly.

(HT TaxProf Blog)