U.S. News & World Report is updating the methodology for its "Best Children's Hospitals" ranking, set to release June 21.
The methodology is "broadly similar" to last year's with a few key changes, according to a May 30 news release from the publication. A few changes to note:
1. The "commitment to best practices" objective increased in weight from 9 to 12 percent.
2. The "commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion" objective increased in weight from 2 to 2.33 percent.
3. The weight of "expert opinion" decreased from 8 to 5 percent in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, and from 13 to 10 percent in all other pediatric specialties.
4. Equity, diversity and inclusion measures were updated to "better represent key activities involved in this area of work" according to expert input, the news release said. As a result, hospitals might see different scores from last year on this measure, even if their policies have not changed.
U.S. News also altered methodologies for medical school and law school rankings this year to increase emphasis on student outcomes. Multiple highly rated medical and law schools chose not to submit data for the rankings, alleging they promote prestige while hindering diversity measures. Read more about the medical schools' concerns here.