原文标题：University rankingsColumbia opts outThe Ivy League departure could signal a turning-point in college rankings大学排名哥伦比亚大学决定退出常春藤联盟的离开可能预示着大学排名的转折点

Columbia University ditches the college-ranking system哥伦比亚大学放弃参与大学排名

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ON JUNE 6TH Columbia University announced that it will no longer co-operate with US News & World Report’s undergraduate rankings.

6月6日，哥伦比亚大学宣布与《美国新闻与世界报道》终止合作，不再参与本科院校的排名。

It is the first top-notchinstitution to do so. Might its departure be the start of a mass exodus?

哥大是第一个与之终止合作的一流院校。哥大的离开会导致大规模院校效仿吗？

[Paragraph 2]Columbia’s decision follows a rankings scandal last year. In February 2022 one of Columbia’s own maths professors, Michael Thaddeus, accused the college of fudgingits data in several areas. 事件起因要从哥伦比亚大学去年的排名丑闻说起。2022年2月，哥伦比亚大学的数学教授迈克尔.萨德斯指控校方排名数据造假。The university later admitted to having used “outdated and/or incorrect methodologies”.哥大后来承认使用了 "过时和/或不正确统计方法"。[Paragraph 3]US News began ranking America’s top universities in 1983, and has released its findings annually since 1988. US News 于 1983 年开始对美国顶尖大学进行排名，自1988年起每年发布其调查结果。In the 1980s prospective students started to expand their college search beyond their local area, and it was hard to learn about universities and compare them, says Michael Sauder, a professor of sociology at the University of Iowa. “US News filled an information gap at that time,” he adds. 爱荷华大学社会学教授迈克尔.索德说，在1980年代，欲申请的学生开始将他们的大学搜索范围扩大到本地以外的地区，而当时他们对大学不了解且无法做对比。US News排名填补了这一信息空白。[Paragraph 4]Colleges have gone to great lengthsto move up in the ratings. 各个大学为了提高排名，不惜一切代价。Richard Freeland, Northeastern University’s former president, capped class sizes and hired faculty to improve its spot; it moved from 127th in 2003 to 44th this year. 东北大学的前校长理查德.弗里兰限制了班级人数，并聘请了更多教职员工以提高排名；该校排名从2003年的第127位上升到今年的第44位。Others went too far. A deanat Temple University’s business school was sentenced to prison and was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine after being convicted of fraud in relation to artificially inflating his programme’s rankings. 其他人则走了极端。天普大学商学院的一位院长被判入狱，并被勒令支付25万美元的罚款，他被判因人为提高学校排名而涉嫌欺诈。[Paragraph 5]The ranking system used to seem unstoppable. Universities have tried to ditch it before, only to find that doing so can backfire badly. 排名系统曾经似乎势不可挡。大学曾试图退出排名，结果发现这样做会适得其反。US News still ranks non-participating universities, using publicly available information, and the data often do not go in their favour. US News 仍然使用公开信息对未参与的大学进行排名，而这些数据往往对大学不利。Reed College, a liberal-arts college, stopped taking part in 1995. It tumbled from the top quartile to the bottom. 里德学院是一所文理学院，于1995年停止参与排名。它的排名从前1/4跌至垫底。Columbia did not submit data for this year’s analysis, citing concerns about Dr Thaddeus’s claims, and its ranking fell from second in 2021-22 (tied with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to 18th in 2022-23 (tied with the University of Notre Dame).哥伦比亚大学没有提交今年的分析数据，理由是对萨德斯博士的指控感到担忧，其排名从2021-22年的第2名（与哈佛大学和麻省理工学院并列）跌至2022-23年的第18位（与圣母大学并列）。[Paragraph 6]Recently the mood has begun to change, however, especially among graduate schools. 最近，情况开始发生变化，特别是在研究生院中。In 2022, 17 medical schools and 62 law schools did not submit data to US News. Yale and Harvard were the first leading law schools to leave, in November. 2022年，17所医学院和62所法学院未向US News提交数据。耶鲁大学和哈佛大学是第一批在 11 月放弃排名的顶尖法学院。By the release of the rankings, of the 15 highest-ranked law schools, only the University of Chicago submitted data. 截至排名发布时，在排名最高的15所法学院中，只有芝加哥大学提交了数据。Some undergraduate schools have already opted out this year (Rhode Island School of Design, Colorado College, Stillman College), but none are as prestigious as Columbia. 一些本科院校今年已经选择退出排名（有罗德岛设计学院、科罗拉多学院、斯蒂尔曼学院），但没有一所学校像哥伦比亚大学那样享有盛名。[Paragraph 7]Its departure could give others cover for the decision to leave. Meanwhile another pillar of undergraduate education is under threat: standardised testing. 哥大的离开可能会给其他学校的离开找到理由。与此同时，另一个本科教育的选拔核心正面临威胁：标准化考试。Many universities made the SAT and ACT optional because of covid-19, then extended the policy beyond the pandemic’s end. 由于疫情，许多大学将 SAT 和 ACT 设为可选考试，后来将这一政策延伸到疫情结束之后。In March Columbia became the first Ivy League university to no longer require such tests at all.3月，哥伦比亚大学成为第一个完全不再要求此类考试成绩的常春藤联盟大学。[Paragraph 8]In May US News announced changes to its rankings methodology. It is moving away from metrics that rely on reputation (such as alumni giving scores) and towards student outcomes (such as graduating people from different backgrounds). 5 月，US News 宣布更改其排名方法。它正在从依赖声誉的度量指标（例如校友评分），转向依赖学生成果的度量指标（例如毕业人数，特别是来自不同背景的毕业人数）。One way or another,the rankings—and universities more broadly—are in flux. 不管怎样，排名——以及更广范围的大学相关事情——都在变化之中。（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量565左右）原文出自：2023年6月10日《The Economist》United States版块

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【补充资料】（来自于网络）《美国新闻与世界报道》US News & World Report是一家美国的新闻杂志，每年都会发布一份针对美国本科大学的排名，被称为“US News & World Report’s undergraduate rankings”，包括了全美国的近4000所大学和学院，这份排名被认为是美国本科教育领域最具权威性和影响力的排名之一。这份排名主要考虑了各个学校的学术声誉、教育质量、毕业生就业情况、学生入学成绩、师生比例、财务状况等多个因素，同时也考虑了学校的地理位置、校园生活、学生文化等因素。根据以上因素的综合评估，US News & World Report会将排名分为全美前100、前200、前300等不同等级，同时也会对各个学科领域进行排名。虽然这份排名并没有被所有人认可，但在美国本科大学排名中，该排名是备受关注的，许多学校都会在招生宣传中提及自己的排名情况。【重点句子】（3个）US News began ranking America’s top universities in 1983, and has released its findings annually since 1988. US News 于 1983 年开始对美国顶尖大学进行排名，自1988年起每年发布其调查结果。Colleges have gone to great lengths to move up in the ratings. 各个大学为了提高排名，不惜一切代价。The ranking system used to seem unstoppable. Universities have tried to ditch it before, only to find that doing so can backfire badly. 排名系统曾经似乎势不可挡。大学曾试图退出排名，结果发现这样做会适得其反。