CHAPTER O.6 
PROPERTIES OF SCORE 

HOW SCORE AND ACTUAL-POTENTIAL
CHANGE ARE DETERMINED

 

 
HOW USNews DETERMINES A LAW SCHOOL'S SCORE. First a WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF TWELVE FACTORS of quality is calculated for each law school under consideration. For each of these law schools, its weighted-average is divided by the the weighted-average of the highest scoring law school; this quotient is then multiplied by 100, this gives us the percent of the top score this law school has. This percent is defined to be the law school's SCORE.  


HOW THE (0VERALL) SCORE IS DETERMINED

 
  • HOW USNews DETERMINES A LAW SCHOOL'S SCORE. First a WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF TWELVE FACTORS  of quality is calculated for each law school under consideration. For each of these law schools, its weighted-average is divided by the the weighted-average of the highest scoring law school; this quotient is then multiplied by 100, this gives us the percent of the top score this law school has. This percent is defined to be the law school's SCORE.   

 

 

Ex 1

 

Ex2

 

Ex 3

 

 

Ex 4 

 

Ex 5 

 

 Ex 6

 

                             
Law School A   1300   1450    1600     1400   1400   1400  
The Top Law School    1700   1700   1700     1600   1800   2000   

Score of Law School A  

  76.5    85.3   94.1     87.5   77.8   70.0  

  • We use "Score" instead of "Overall Score" as USNews does.
      
  • The last line is the quotient of the preceding two lines multiplied by 100. 
       
  • One can say that the SCORE of a law school is a fraction turned into a percent. The numeratorof the fraction is the law school's weighted-average  and the denominator of this fraction is the highest scoring law school's weighted-average.
          
  • To increase the value of a fraction, one must either increase the numerator or decrease the denominator. 
        
  • More relevant to us, if a law school's score increased, we conclude that the law school's weighted-average increased or the top law school's weighted average (the denominator) decreased.  
     
  • The SCORE can range from 0 to 100 inclusive.  
      
  • The law school with the best weighted average will have the SCORE of 100 exactly. 
      
  • A law school's SCORE indicates the law school's performance with respect to the law school with the best weighted average  (Yale). For example, if a law school's weighted average was 70 percent of the highest weighted average, its SCORE would be 70. 
         
  • A law sch   ool's SCORE indicates the law school's performance with respect to the law school with the best weighted average  (Yale). For example, if a law school's weighted average was 70 percent of the highest weighted average, its SCORE would be 70. 
      
  • SCORE compares a law school to the top law school and, ipso facto, to all ranked law schools.
      
  • A law school's rank is determined completely from its SCORE.  

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