Logo

SALT supports boycott of US News Law School Survey

Published: May 26, 2010

 Law       

Earlier this month, the dean of St. Thomas Law School, Alfredo Garcia, called for a boycott of the U.S. News Law School Survey: "Everybody decries the survey, but everyone participates in the survey. Boycotting is not going to solve matters, but I figured I would put my money where my mouth is."  Yesterday, the avowedly progressive Society of American Law Teachers (“SALT”) rallied behind Dean Garcia, urging law school deans and faculty members to work with the American Bar Association to reduce the “pernicious” influence of the USNWR rankings.

Short version of the 3-pronged SALT objection:

1.    Because LSAT scores figure so prominently into the computation of a school’s rank, few schools are willing to compromise their ranking by accepting “nontraditional” students whose merit is measured in ways other than a single test score. 

2.    The U.S. News rankings’ emphasis on LSAT scores directly undercuts a school’s ability to admit a diverse class.

3.    The U.S. News rankings’ emphasis on the LSAT also affects how law schools conceptualize merit in determining which of their applicants will be successful and proficient lawyers.

Full statement here.

-posted by brian

***