Obama wants the federal government to rank colleges and universities now but as Shikha Dalmia of Reason points out, that plan is full of fail.

Hat tip to Instapundit.

Obama’s University Scorecard Plan Deserves an “F”

President Obama’s proposal to create a federal scorecard for universities in two years has critics upset. “Americans should think … hard before allowing the federal government to dominate … higher education,” cautions The Wall Street Journal.

The problem isn’t that some new government formula would take control of higher education. Before Obama set foot in office, the federal government was already in the driver’s seat. Uncle Sam dominates higher education with the $150 billion in financial aid it gives out every year, more than twice the education spending of all 50 states combined.

The problem is that the new government scorecard is as flawed as the ones it would replace. And it would do little to fight the main problem in higher education — inflation disconnected from actual learning in college.

The sticker price for tuition at four-year public colleges has grown 27% above inflation over the past five years. That’s in part because students have little data to compare the costs of college with the benefit of attending particular schools.

Most rating systems measure factors that have little to do with what learning happens at colleges. The U.S. News and World Report ratings, the most influential, are largely based on fame, wealth and exclusivity. Universities that reject more applicants get higher scores because they are more “exclusive.” Likewise, colleges better at shaking down rich alumni are ranked higher.

Other ratings have their own problems. The Washington Monthly rates colleges not on “what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country.” Colleges get higher ratings for graduating social workers than for business leaders.