Over the past few decades, education has been heavily entrenched in ranking systems, resulting in a plethora of websites dedicated to evaluating both colleges and high schools. “By appealing to the human desire for rankings and knowing where you stand and where somebody else stands, [US News and World Report] were able to make [it] a very strong part of their business, which is now basically the only part of their business,” wrote James Fallows, a writer for The Atlantic and a former editor of U.S. News. However, ranking something as subjective as schooling has led people to question whether such websites are biased and untrustworthy.
Niche is one of the leading platforms for the school search process, along with U.S. News and Forbes. Founded in 2002 by Luke Skurman, Niche originally published guidebooks under the name College Prowler, mostly providing grades, rankings and reviews of colleges in the United States. When explaining the motivations behind Niche, Skurman pointed to his own college search process which led him to a college different from what he had initially envisioned. “​​I’m fascinated by the art of decision-making, especially when it comes to where to live, where to go to college, and where to send your kids to school — and Niche is dedicated to helping you with that process,” said Skurman from the Niche website.
The evaluation system Niche uses to grade and rank schools is very complex and employs various measures and categories. Kindergarten through twelfth grade schools are sorted by district, religious affiliation, public or private and academics, among other groupings. Each school is graded on certain qualities: academics, diversity, sports, teachers, clubs & activities, and college prep. Niche relies on public data from federal organizations like the U.S. Department of Education. Niche also claims to use over one hundred million reviews and surveys submitted by parents, alumni and students on the website. These data sets are inspected for accuracy, weighted by importance and accumulated into a final Niche grade. If a school does not have data for fifty percent or more of the factors, they are unqualified to receive a grade or a ranking.
On the Niche website, Urban has an A+ and is ranked thirteenth for best private high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Furthermore, it has a rating of four and a half out of five stars, with the majority of the reviews being five stars. Nonetheless, Urban’s Admissions office does not seem to consider its rankings on Niche.
“I do not personally know our rankings or know if Niche even keeps rankings for high schools,” said Kenneth Chou, Assistant Director of Admissions. “We update our profile annually, and that’s as much time the admissions office spends on these websites.”
“Urban does not believe that school rankings are a valid barometer for the quality of a school and therefore we do not participate or provide details to them,” said Urban Marketing and Communications Director Jenn Soult.
On Urban’s Niche page, the two most recent reviews hold very different perspectives on the school.
An anonymous junior said, “The teachers genuinely care about the subjects they are teaching and their students, however, students never really seem to find their people…You either have friends that talk about you behind your back, or you don’t have any at all.”
“Urban provides an excellent quality education with a great community. The teachers and faculty really care about the students, and the grade size of 100 makes the community really great without feeling too small,” said an anonymous senior.
Due to Niche’s grading system, the self-reported data from reviews and surveys have a big impact on a school’s grade. This is one of the website’s biggest selling points, as they supposedly provide insight into the experiences of people in a community. However, the reliability of these reviews can be dubious since all of them are anonymous and tend to be polarized. The reviews range on extreme ends of the spectrum: either very positive or negative responses that lack nuance.
“Hearing honest perspectives from various community members can be really useful,” said Lauren Gerisick, co-director of Urban’s college counseling department. “I would, in general, say that you have to overlay myriad sources of information to feel like you are even approaching getting an accurate sense of a school, college or community.”
Ranking something as nuanced as education renders an experience down to numbers and statistics. Even if Niche is taking into account the reviews and surveys of people who have attended those schools, it produces a mere snapshot of what a school is like for the minority of people there.
“If you are somebody who is looking for a prestigious school…then you will tend to look at [these rankings] and then you may actually get what you need,” said Charlotte Worsley, assistant head for student life. “The simplification won’t hurt you because you’re not looking as much for nuance. I think people who are looking for more nuance and would be bothered by the simplification probably aren’t looking at the site.”
Niche’s apparent favoritism of wealthier communities and schools also highlights the biases behind school ranking websites. The students and parents who participate in the reviews and surveys are more likely to belong to communities with abundant internet access, which tend to have a higher income. Scores on standardized tests such as the ACT, SBAC and SAT also factor into Niche’s evaluation system. These tests have been frequently attacked for only valuing a student’s testing abilities–and the fact that they are more available to families who can invest in tutors and preparation. The economic inequalities in both of these criteria naturally lead to ranking disparities on the lists.
Private high schools tend to dominate Niche’s ranking lists for Best High Schools in America, placing public schools towards the bottom. Additionally, the prestige and competition inherent to private education feeds value to their Niche rankings.
“There’s a lack of funding and attention when it comes to public education, causing the school system to also lack the proper materials needed to teach,” said Charlotte Fassnacht ‘26. “I live very close to Mission High, and when you walk by it you can see windows broken or boarded up. You would never see that at Urban because they have the money and resources that public schools just don’t have.” Fassnacht also spoke about how Niche might cater their grades and rankings of schools towards white and/or higher class families. “Wealthier or more privileged families might be more accepting and trusting of the ranking because it appeals more to them.”