Dora R. Bertram (Washington U.) has posted Annotated Bibliography: Ranking of Law Schools by U.S. News & World Report on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

For better or worse, the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of law schools is the most prominent and widely used ranking by all constituencies having an interest in legal education. The rankings have triggered impassioned responses and a significant body of commentary and analysis. This comprehensive annotated bibliography documents the wide variety of literature analyzing the rankings and explaining why the rankings are loved by some and hated by many. A brief history of the ranking of institutions of higher education, including law schools, provides background and puts today’s debate in context. This study was commissioned as part of the work of the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Special Committee on the U.S. News and World Report Rankings.