The CEP is a national, independent source for research and information about public education. The Center helps Americans better understand the rankings and metrics of public schools. We do not represent any special interests. Instead, we try to help citizens make informed choices about finding and choosing public schools.
Publications Recognize CEP
Our articles have gained recognition and have been quoted by reputable publications and educational institutions. Notable colleges and organizations that have cited our work include:
Methodology For Rankings
The approach we take to college rankings is not the be-all and end-all of your college search.
Instead, our rankings should be viewed as a starting point to help you kick off your journey to finding the right college for you. While we provide a variety of rankings on our site, some of them are not created by us. In these cases, we quote rankings from other publications, such as US News and QS, and then delve deeper into the schools and programs they highlight.
Other rankings we develop are based on a proprietary “average” ranking. Essentially, we analyze college ranking publications and also take key metrics (acceptance rates, graduation & retention rates, student loan default rates, Early and mid-career earnings, etc) into consideration, determine where schools rank in those articles, and then generate an “averaged out” ranking.