Good thoughts, Ron. What you’re describing is a variation of Goodhart’s Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” I’m most familiar with how this plays out in higher education, especially with administrators obsessed with college rankings. Rankings like U.S. News & World Report are ostensibly a measurement tool, but moving up in the rankings has become a target or goal, even to the point where “moving up the rankings” becomes enshrined in strategic plans, and universities spend big bucks trying to climb the ranks.
Good thoughts, Ron. What you’re describing is a variation of Goodhart’s Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” I’m most familiar with how this plays out in higher education, especially with administrators obsessed with college rankings. Rankings like U.S. News & World Report are ostensibly a measurement tool, but moving up in the rankings has become a target or goal, even to the point where “moving up the rankings” becomes enshrined in strategic plans, and universities spend big bucks trying to climb the ranks.