A look at Washington Monthly's new college ranking system

2012 Syracuse University Commencement
Syracuse University graduates sit and read programs during the 2012 Syracuse University Commencement at Syracuse University on May 13, 2012 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.
Nate Shron/Getty Images

This year's Washington Monthly College Guide took a different approach to the much-anticipated college rankings report. Editors at the magazine created a new ranking algorithm, where factors such as cost, accountability and productivity are taken into account.

From the guide:

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, or ducking accountability for it? Are they trying to become more productive--and if so, why is average tuition rising faster than health care costs?

Kevin Carey, director of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation and guest editor of the Washington Monthly college guide, will join The Daily Circuit Tuesday, Dec. 4 as we take a look at what schools topped the list and figure out where traditionally high-ranking schools ended up.

Paul Peterson, professor of government and director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, will also join the discussion.

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