Intelligence and Influence: On Education Ranking Systems

By Audrey Watters. Ideology and Ranking
But even if we did know the algorithm that drives the Klout score, I’d still want to ask questions about the meaning of the measurement and the weight that the number – any ranking system, really – carries. Why, if nothing else, are we so obsessed with ranking?
What purposes does Klout serve? Whose purposes does Klout serve? Why is Michael Petrilli or Forbes or Rick Hess or any of the other popular list-makers interested in a ranking or rating system for those in education?
See, this isn’t simply about “influence”; it’s about ideology.
I’m in the middle of writing a chapter for Teaching Machines that examines the histories of “intelligence” and ed-tech – intelligence testing, artificial intelligence, “intelligent tutoring systems.” Much like “influence,” “intelligence” is something difficult to define let alone quantify. More...