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Not to be confused with TheBestColleges.org
An online magazine centered on ranking online educational programs, particularly Christian and for-profit
Not to be confused with bestcolleges.com/
Catie R. Chase, College Specialist (hired by BestColleges.com in 2014)
Ryan Gleason, editor-in-chief
Registrant: George T. Anagnos (born 1947), lawyer
Registrant Organization: TheB.com Corp., a New Jersey entity
Box 1500
Ridgewood, NJ 07451


TheBestSchools.org is an United States|American]] online magazine]] featuring articles that rank colleges in categories that include "most conservative" and "best online." The website also publishes rankings of careers, smartest minds in several age categories, and the like. The general editor and website registrant, James Alan Barham, PhD (born 1952), is an exponent of intelligent design who has published articles on the topic and posted commentary on TheBestSchools.org domain. The .org portion of the domain name does not denote non-profit status for any organization, as it once did.

History

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The website domain was registered on March 27, 2011. TheBestSchools.org published http: //www.thebestschools.org/blog/2014/03/25/measure-darwinian-fundamentalism/#.UzLe2A33fcs.google_plusone_share "Measuring Darwinian Fundamentalism,"] and commissioned the http: //www.thebestschools.org/darwinian-fundamentalism-index/ "Darwinian Fundamentalism Index,"] which essentially screens for criteria to determine whether exponents of Darwinism have traits similar to those of extremists and fundamentalists — equating Darwinists to close-minded, irrational thinkers. The website contains commentary on how to analyze political doctrine of institutions and challenges political correctness, under its own definition.

Editorial staff

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  • Barham, originally from Texas]], is a science history scholar. Barham was a recipient of the first John von Neumann]] Essay Award (around 2003) for the best graduate student essay on the subject of complex, information, and design. The award was sponsored by the International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design]]. Barham, at the time, was on the editorial board of Progress in Complexity, Information, and Design]] the journal of the International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design]].[1]
  • David A. Tomar (born 1980) joined the TheBestSchools.org staff.[2]
  • Wayne J. Downs, managing editor and media contact, is a co-author, with William A. Dembski]], of The Patristic Understanding of Creation. William A. Dembski]], who regards Barham as a colleague, stated that TheBestSchools.org's article, "The 50 Best Colleges in the United States," includes some intelligent design]] friendly schools.[3] Downs has been a part-time instructor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky]].

Criticism

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Bias towards for-profit vocational schools
  • For undergraduate education in music, TheBestSchools.org published its "20 Best Music Conservatories." Conservatories (vs. major music schools integrated with universities) are basically vocational schools. Only one on the list — Jacobs — has a curriculum that requires comprehensive classical higher education. Conservatories, at the undergraduate level are "old-school." Jacobs, ironically, was one of a number of schools that pioneered a new model, one that challenged the conservatory model, by combining undergraduate music training of a teachers college, a conservatory, liberal arts enrichment, and musicology into one and integrated it with a major comprehensive university. The days of learning music of any sort "out in the field" are gone. The days of narrow music education are gone. Top musicians of all genres with strong comprehensive academic credentials dominate in North America. In Europe, the conservatory model is gone (see First_Prize_(music_diploma)#First_prize_broadly_discontinued;_new_ diploma_is_instituted|First Prize]]) Of TheBestSchools.org's top 20 conservatories, Jacobs is the only major public institution.
Three on the list — LA Collage of Music, McNally Smith, Musicians Institute — are for-profit corporations (MI has a 99% acceptance rate). LA College of Music and MI are owned by the same person. Listing for-profit institutions draws advertisers of the same ilk, such as Phoenix, Full Sail, and DeVry, all of which have large online advertising budgets. The online ad model is done through AdWords or a similar model.
Of the 20 conservatories chosen, only a few — Jacobs, Juilliard, Manhattan, New England, Eastman — offer strong comprehensive music curricula.
  1. Juilliard School
  2. Curtis Institute of Music
  3. Manhattan School of Music
  4. Berklee College of Music
  5. Mannes College-The New School for Music
  6. New England Conservatory of Music
  7. Boston Conservatory
  8. Cleveland Institute of Music
  9. San Francisco Conservatory of Music]]
  10. Peabody Conservatory]], Johns Hopkins University]]
  11. Eastman School of Music]], University of Rochester]]
  12. Oberlin Conservatory of Music]]
  13. Academy of Vocal Arts]]
  14. Jacobs School of Music]], Indiana University Bloomington]]
  15. New World Symphony (orchestra)|New World Symphony]], Miami Beach, Florida
  16. Los Angeles College of Music
  17. Bard College Conservatory of Music
  18. McNally Smith College of Music
  19. Colburn Conservatory of Music
  20. Musicians Institute

Stats

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  • Alexa BackLinks = 402
  • Alexa Rank = 86,731
  • Google Pagerank = 5 (out of 10)
Stats as of January 9, 2015, via http://whoismachine.com/review/thebestschools.org

Selected works of James Barham

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Articles
  • "Normativity, Agency, and Life," by Barham, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science ScienceDirect]] ; OCLC 4926792225, 5192429782, ISSN 0039-3681, ISSN 1369-8486
Reviews by Barham
  • A History of Ancient Psychiatry, by Giuseppe Roccatagliata, Greenwood Press]] (1986) OCLC 11029800
Reviewed by James Barham, Isis (journal)|ISIS]] (History of Science Society]]), Vol. 77, N° 3, September 1986, pps. 539–540; OCLC 4637174168, 5548902131, ISSN 0021-1753
Responses to Barham's reviews
  • "Reply to Barham," Aggregation and Dispersal Phase Sites in the Later Stone Age, by Lyn Wadley]], South_African_Archaeological_Society#Publications|South African Archeological Bulletin, Vol. 47, N° 155, June 1992, pps. 52–55; OCLC 5546359993, ISSN 0038-1969

Notes

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  • see Typosquatting]], cybersquatting, URL hijacking]], fake url]], brandjacking]]

Are there ratings of the rating agencies?

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References

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  1. ^ Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design, by Barbara Forrest]] & Paul R. Gross]], Oxford University Press]] (2004); OCLC 50913078
  2. ^ "Former Academic Ghostwriter, 'The Shadow Scholar,' David A. Tomar Joins TheBestSchools.org Staff," PR Newswire]]
  3. ^ http: //www.evolutionnews.org/2012/12/rational_justif067191.html "Rational Justification as Detailed Articulation: A Reply to Barham and Nagel,"] William A. Dembski]], Evolution News]] (www.evolutionnews.org), Seattle: Discovery Institute]], December 6, 2012
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