What Is Quality? Applying a Value-Added Approach to Measure Quality in Law School

• In Event: Policy, Structural, and Institutional Issues in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Abstract

Traditional law school rankings primarily rely on reputation, selectivity, graduate employment, and bar passage to determine which schools are “best”, and perceptions of quality generally follow from these rankings. These criteria favor elite, predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and penalize HBCUs and mission-driven law schools who focus more on diversifying the legal profession than on increasing their overall U.S. News and World Report rank. We introduce a value-added model that determines a school’s value by predicting each school’s bar passage rate, then examining which schools consistently have higher passage rates than predicted. This conception of value eschews structural advantages in traditional ranking and shows where students can get the most “bang for their buck.”

Authors

• Jason Scott, AccessLex Institute

• Joshua Jackson, AccessLex Institute