原文標題：
University rankings
Columbia opts out
The Ivy League departure could signal a turning-point in college rankings
大學排名
哥倫比亞大學決定退出
Columbia University ditches the college-ranking system
哥倫比亞大學放棄參與大學排名
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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，哥倫比亞大學宣布與《美國新聞與世界報導》終止合作，不再參與本科院校的排名。
It is the first top-notch institution to do so. Might its departure be the start of a mass exodus?
哥大是第一個與之終止合作的一流院校。哥大的離開會導致大規模院校效仿嗎？
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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 fudging its data in
several areas.
事件起因要從哥倫比亞大學去年的排名醜聞說起。2022年2月，哥倫比亞大學的數學教授麥可.薩德斯指控校方排名數據造假。
The university later admitted to having used 「outdated and/or incorrect methodologies」.
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US News began ranking America’s top universities in 1983, and has released its findings annually since 1988.
US News 於 1983 年開始對美國頂尖大學進行排名，自1988年起每年發布其調查結果。
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.
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Colleges have gone to great lengths to move up in the ratings.
各個大學為了提高排名，不惜一切代價。
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.
東北大學的前校長理察.弗里蘭限制了班級人數，並聘請了更多教職員工以提高排名；該校排名從2003年的第127位上升到今年的第44位。
其他人則走了極端。天普大學商學院的一位院長被判入獄，並被勒令支付25萬美元的罰款，他被判因人為提高學校排名而涉嫌欺詐。
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The ranking system used to seem unstoppable. Universities have tried to ditch it before, only to find that doing so can backfire badly.
US News still ranks non-participating universities, using publicly available information, and the data often do not go in their favour.
US News 仍然使用公開信息對未參與的大學進行排名，而這些數據往往對大學不利。
Reed College, a liberal-arts college, stopped taking part in 1995. It tumbled from the top quartile to the bottom.
里德學院是一所文理學院，於1995年停止參與排名。它的排名從前1/4跌至墊底。
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).
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Recently the mood has begun to change, however, especially among graduate schools.
最近，情況開始發生變化，特別是在研究生院中。
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所醫學院和62所法學院未向US News提交數據。耶魯大學和哈佛大學是第一批在 11 月放棄排名的頂尖法學院。
By the release of the rankings, of the 15 highest-ranked law schools, only the University of Chicago submitted data.
截至排名發布時，在排名最高的15所法學院中，只有芝加哥大學提交了數據。
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經選擇退出排名（有羅德島設計學院、科羅拉多學院、斯蒂爾曼學院），但沒有一所學校像哥倫比亞大學那樣享有盛名。
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Its departure could give others cover for the decision to leave. Meanwhile another pillar of undergraduate education is under threat: standardised testing.
哥大的離開可能會給其他學校的離開找到理由。與此同時，另一個本科教育的選拔核心正面臨威脅：標準化考試。
Many universities made the SAT and ACT optional because of covid-19, then extended the policy beyond the pandemic’s end.
由於疫情，許多大學將 SAT 和 ACT 設為可選考試，後來將這一政策延伸到疫情結束之後。
In March Columbia became the first Ivy League university to no longer require such tests at all.
3月，哥倫比亞大學成為第一個完全不再要求此類考試成績的常春藤聯盟大學。
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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。它正在從依賴聲譽的度量指標（例如校友評分），轉向依賴學生成果的度量指標（例如畢業人數，特別是來自不同背景的畢業人數）。
One way or another, the rankings—and universities more broadly—are in flux.
不管怎樣，排名——以及更廣範圍的大學相關事情——都在變化之中。
（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞彙量565左右）
原文出自：2023年6月10日《The Economist》United States版塊
精讀筆記來源於：自由英語之路
本文翻譯整理: Irene
本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。
【補充資料】（來自於網絡）
《美國新聞與世界報導》US News & World Report是一家美國的新聞雜誌，每年都會發布一份針對美國本科大學的排名，被稱為「US News & World Report’s undergraduate
rankings」，包括了全美國的近4000所大學和學院，這份排名被認為是美國本科教育領域最具權威性和影響力的排名之一。這份排名主要考慮了各個學校的學術聲譽、教育質量、畢業生就業情況、學生入學成績、師生比例、財務狀況等多個因素，同時也考慮了學校的地理位置、校園生活、學生文化等因素。根據以上因素的綜合評估，US News & World
Report會將排名分為全美前100、前200、前300等不同等級，同時也會對各個學科領域進行排名。雖然這份排名並沒有被所有人認可，但在美國本科大學排名中，該排名是備受關注的，許多學校都會在招生宣傳中提及自己的排名情況。
【重點句子】（3個）
US News began ranking America’s top universities in 1983, and has released its findings annually since 1988.
US News 於 1983 年開始對美國頂尖大學進行排名，自1988年起每年發布其調查結果。
Colleges have gone to great lengths to move up in the ratings.
各個大學為了提高排名，不惜一切代價。
The ranking system used to seem unstoppable. Universities have tried to ditch it before, only to find that doing so can backfire badly.
排名系統曾經似乎勢不可擋。大學曾試圖退出排名，結果發現這樣做會適得其反。