From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
这里是VOA教育频道
Students in the United States usually start their college search by looking at rankings. Which are best academically? Which has the most affordable tuition?
美国学生在选择大学的时候都会看看大学排名情况。哪所大学学术水平最高？哪所大学得到的赞助最多
It can be a difficult decision. The U.S. has many public, private and even online schools. Students can choose from two-year colleges, four-year colleges and trade schools. There are over 1,700 two-year colleges, 2,900 four-year colleges and 4,700 schools giving degrees.
选择进入哪所大学的很难决定的。美国有许多公立的、私立的甚至网上大学。学生可以选择两年制、四年制和职业学校。有大约1700所两年制大学、2900所4年制大学和4700所学校可以授予学位
Choosing the right college is very important to students and their families. They look to rankings, or lists of schools, to make that choice. But rankings are not as simple as they seem.
选择一个好的合适的大学对于学生和家长来说都很重要。他们会参考大学排名来进行选择，但是大学排名里面其实有很多学问

How do you rank a college?
大学排名是怎么统计的
US News and World Report uses information from more than 1,000 schools to create a list of the top universities. The Princeton Review and Forbes are also well-known lists that rank schools.
美国各大媒体在统计了超过1000所学校的信息之后给出大学排名。还有其他知名排名榜杂志也会给出自己的结果
U.S. News and World Report measures selectivity. Selectivity means that the school accepts a small percent of applicants. Schools can pick and choose from their applicants. The applicants must have excellent academic records and very high test scores.
美国媒体衡量的标准的录取率。学校从申请者中收取自己的学生，申请人必须有很好的成绩和考试成绩
The college rankings are determined by several factors. How well teachers are paid is one. The rate of graduation is important, too.
大学排名有几个因素组成。老师的工资水平也是其中之一，还有毕业率
The problem, says Jonathan Rothwell, an expert at Brookings, is that schools that are selective may benefit from better students. It does not mean that they provide the best education.
问题是，尽管有些学校是选走了好学生，但是并不表示他们真的可以提供好的教育
Others have released rankings that measure how much money students make after graduating. For example, the Economist released college rankings in October. Because employment after graduation is uncertain, some students want to learn if their school will give them skills to find a high-paying career.
还有一个排名影响因素是学生毕业以后收入水平。比如,由经济学人在10月发布的排名。因为毕业以后的就业情况谁都不能预测，一些学生就像知道自己的学校毕业以后能不能找到好工作。
Stacy Berg Dale and Alan B. Kreuge are Harvard researchers. They looked at two groups of students with similar test scores. One group could have gone to selective schools. But they chose to attend schools that were less selective.
Stacy Berg Dale 和 Alan B. Kreuge是哈佛大学研究员。他们测试两组成绩相同学生，一组学生进入好学校，另一组去的普通学校
That group of students still made the same amount of money as the students who went to selective schools. This suggests that it is the student, not the school that creates the success.
结果显示，两组学生毕业之后，收入水平是一样多的，这就表示学校对学生未来收入影响不大，学生才是关键
Jonathan Rothwell says that we do not need more ranking systems. He says we need better ones. He, too, has created a ranking system. It is called the "value-added" approach. His approach shows the contribution of the college education to student salaries.
Jonathan Rothwell表示：我们根本不需要更多的大学排名，我们需要完善优秀的大学排名系统。因此，他研发了一个叫做“value-added”方法，可以显示大学教育对学生未来薪水影响程度。

What to do about the problem?
怎么解决问题
The growing number of college ranking systems suggests that students and parents demand better information about colleges.
各自层出不穷的大学排名显示家长和学生急需更好了解大学的资料
As the cost of higher education becomes too much for many students, policymakers have to deal with how to control those costs.
高等教育的费用是很高的，现在政治家在想办法减少大学教育费用
The U.S. Department of Education says that in 2012-2013, the average cost of an education at a four-year private college was $35,074 per year. Four-year public colleges cost $17,474 on average.
美国教育部表示：在2012年到2013年间，美国私人大学四年制教育费用为35074美元，4年制公立大学费用为17474美元
In 1982 to 1983, the average cost of an education at a four-year private college was $16,797. Four-year public colleges cost $7,534 on average. These numbers are adjusted for inflation.
而在1982年到1983年，美国四年制私立大学平均一年学费为16797美元。公立大学为7534美元。学费是随着通胀率增长的
Developing a new, effective college ranking system was one of the Obama administration's important strategies for improving higher education. In 2013, the Department of Education announced a new plan for ranking colleges. It looks at the annual cost after financial aid, the school's graduation rate and the annual salary for graduates.
发展新的更加效率的大学排名系统是奥巴马政府提高高等教育水平的目标之一，在2013年，教育部宣布了一项新的大学排名计划。着重参考大学支出、学生毕业率和毕业生毕业后薪水

President Obama announced the plan:
总统奥巴马宣布该计划
"Our first priority is aimed at providing better value for students -- making sure that families and taxpayers are getting what we pay for. Today, I'm directing Arne Duncan, our Secretary of Education, to lead an effort to develop a new rating system for America's colleges before the 2015 college year. I think we should rate colleges based on opportunity. Are they helping students from all kinds of backgrounds succeed, and on outcomes, on their value to students and parents."
“我们的首要目标就是为学生提供更好的教育——保证家庭和纳税人为高等教育付出的学费是值得的。今天，我们的教育部部长将在2015学年之前，规划出新的大学排名系统。我认为，大学应该给学生提供机会。帮助来自不同家庭背景学生取得成功，实现自己的价值和家庭对他们的期望”
The Obama administration's goal is to give students information to help them choose the school that is right for them – and avoid unnecessary loans, too.
奥巴马政府的目标是让每个学生都能选择时候他们的大学，避免过重的学生贷款
The Obama Administration has not released college rankings. However, in September, the U.S. Department of Education released the College Scorecard, which has information about many colleges in the U.S. It offers information about programs, schools and costs. The new college scorecard does not rank schools.
奥巴马政府现在还没有发布大学排名。但是在9月，美国教育部发表大学成绩卡，上面包含了美国一些学校的信息。包括项目、学校名称和学费、新的大学卡现在还没有发布
Jonathan Rothwell says that the College Scorecard has weaknesses. It is based on students who took out loans or received money from the U.S. government. The scorecard also calculates students' salaries for 10 years after graduation. That may or may not be enough time to show the value of a college degree.
Jonathan Rothwell表示：大学成绩卡也有缺点。它是根据每个学生从美国政府得到的贷款做出的数据，成绩卡也统计了毕业10年以后学生的薪水。但是这不能完全反映一个大学的价值。
I'm Jill Robbins.
我是Jill Robbins

本栏目视频字幕与文本并不完全对应，且视频播放缓冲时间较长，敬请谅解！