Past and current methods used in academic quality rankings of U.S. colleges and universities are discussed. In addition to a literature and historical review, modern quality rankings are compared with early (pre-1959) rankings, including past rankings of medical, dental, legal and black education. Also considered are the exemplary 1982 evaluation of research-doctorate programs by the National Academy of Sciences, and the 1925-1982 rankings of graduate education in engineering, sciences, and the arts. The European debate (1865-1910) about whether geniuses are the product of heredity or environment is examined. The importance of this debate in the pre-history of academic quality rankings is shown. The efforts of the following organizations that classified postsecondary institutions are addressed: the United States Bureau of Education, the American Association's Council on Medical Education and other accrediting bodies for professional fields, the Methodist Episcopal Church South's Board of Education, and various state agencies. The work of groups that seldom stratified schools into levels according to quality but that published undifferentiated lists of excellent schools is also covered. Six current methods to rank schools are examined, including rankings based on faculty accomplishments, students' achievements, and academic resources. (SW)