The most influential ranking system for law schools — the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings report — does not consistently measure what matters most in legal education: excellent and impactful scholarship and teaching focused on society’s most pressing challenges; access and opportunity for all students; and a commitment to service. Worse still, U.S. News metrics often undermine many of these values and create perverse incentives to abandon some altogether.

Until metrics more fully account for the plural values at stake in legal education, schools chasing rankings will continue to be the tail wagging the dog. Little effort has been made to elaborate mission-aligned metrics. This Essay takes up this task.