Obama is being forced to defend his plan from a growing chorus of disapproval in Washington.

Michael Stratford of Inside Higher Ed reports.

Obama Defends College Ratings

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan pair of Congressional lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives opposing the Obama administration’s college ratings system. The president, meanwhile, defended the proposal as a necessary tool for students.

The resolution, by Representatives Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Michael Capuano of Massachusetts, Republican and Democrat, respectively, criticizes the ratings system as “reductionist” and warns that the government’s ratings would “carry an image of validity that will mislead” prospective students.

“The administration’s proposal to rate postsecondary institutions through an oversimplified federal rating system that is not supported by postsecondary institutions, statute or by the House of Representatives, will lead to less choice, diversity and innovation, and should be rejected,” the resolution says.

Goodlatte previously circulated an email to colleagues that said he’s seeking ways in the current budget process to block the administration from developing the rating system.

Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Senate’s education committee, said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed on Monday that he would support an effort to prevent the Education Department from developing the ratings system. But he said that such Congressional intervention likely wouldn’t be necessary.