Colleges Build Web Sites to Enable Campus Comparisons, Sans Ranks

In the wake of U.S. News & World Report ’s annual rankings of “America’s Best Colleges,” it’s become almost a ritual to read in newspaper op-ed pages a small voice of dissent: College rankings are bunk. They hurt education. There’s got to be a better way.

It’s that time of year again, except that this time around, the voice is louder. Long-established college associations and a nascent national organization are either building or planning five free, Web-based college-information platforms that may diminish the U.S. News lists’ influence among high school counselors, students, and parents.

The information templates now under construction or consideration differ in how much and what kind of information they aim to provide, but they all have one thing...