Just sharing an article from Forbes, which points out how the most popular college rankings use the wrong measures.
How to Choose a College - Forbes.com
According to the article, the popular "US News and World Report" college rankings are no good, and that market-based principles can produce a better, more meaningful ranking. It notes that the standard rankings are based on the input to the schools: schools are ranked based on the quality of students admitted. Instead, they want to rank schools based on results: how well the school produce educated, successful people after they graduate.
Critics of this proposed rankings, however, point out that, although it is an interesting idea, it's pretty hard to do well. For one, "success" after graduation might be difficult to quantify.