Law Schools Beware: Data Glitches In ABA Employment Reports

Yesterday I posted a ranking of all US law schools, based on employment outcomes.  I relied on the ABA spreadsheet compilation of job placement results for all regulated law schools.  The ABA also provides a summary report of employment outcomes for each individual law school - you can download these forms individually from the ABA and every school is required to post its own summary on its website.  The summary sheet should be identical to the spreadsheet and I'm confident that rankings - like Above the Law and US News - rely on the spreadsheet alone.

I discovered last night that for one school - South Texas - there is a significant disparity between the spreadsheet and the form.  This morning I checked every school - but only in the  three relevant categories (JD required jobs LTFT, JD advantage job LTFT, and number of graduates) and found small discrepancies for over 25 schools.  Who knows whether there are other errors in categories I haven't checked; I'm guessing there are. 

I don't know the source of these mistakes, and I don't know whether the spreadsheet is right or the school summary is right in any given case.  I am working to update the post from yesterday to reflect the data on school summary sheets on the theory that these are more likely to be correct - though of course, I can't be certain.

But the main takeaway from this is that both individual law schools and the ABA should be vigilant in confirming that the numbers are identical in both places.  

Comments

[anon]

Ok, trying to follow.

ABA "spreadsheet": check
ABA "summary report": check
Law schools' "summary sheet": check

"there is a significant disparity between the spreadsheet and the form" (???)

"I don't know whether the spreadsheet is right or the school summary is right in any given case"

"school summary sheets ... are more likely to be correct"

Are you saying that you've discovered that the ABA is reporting information different from what the individual law schools reported to it?

If so, with respect to these "small discrepancies for over 25 schools," did the errors follow any pattern?

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Why are we so obsessed with legal jobs? Carrier is hiring! It's beautiful.

[Enrique Guerra Pujol]

To follow up on anon #1, are the discrepancies random (i.e. a roughly equal number of over reports and under reports) or are they mostly pointing in one direction?

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

"Data glitches," you say? Where have we heard that before? Never ever happens. Rare thing these days.