The 30 Top Education Policy Tweeters, 2012

Arne Duncan assumes the throne as Education Policy Social Media King

A year ago, I compiled a list of the top education policy tweeters, as measured by Klout.com. As with any such list, there was no shortage of outrage and ire—over the measuring stick, over the people I inadvertently left out, over the wisdom (or lack thereof) of developing such a ranking at all. Yet, undeterred, I’m back for an update—because it’s fun, because it’s interesting, and because it’s August.

So I present to you the latest and greatest list, circa 2012:

Top 30 Education Policy Organizations and Individuals for Online Influence,
as Measured by Klout, August 2012

2012 Rank Name Twitter Handle Klout Score Aug 2012 2011 Rank
1 Arne Duncan @arneduncan 83 8
2 Diane Ravitch @DianeRavitch 82 1
3 Randi Weingarten @rweingarten 80 13
4 Michelle Rhee @m_rhee 79 5
5 Education Next @educationnext 78 N/A
6 Education Week @educationweek 74 2
7 U.S. Education Department @usedgov 71 3
8 Tom Vander Ark @tvanderark 70 20
9 Huffington Post Education @HuffPostEdu 68 3
10 AFT @aftunion 66 N/A
10 Mike Klonsky @mikeklonsky 66 12
10 Anthony Cody @anthonycody 66 N/A
13 ASCD @ASCD 65 6
13 Sam Chaltain @samchaltain 65 N/A
15 Joy Resmovits @joyresmovits 64 N/A
15 Alfie Kohn @alfiekohn 64 8
17 Alexander Russo @alexanderrusso 63 22
17 Motoko Rich @motokorich 63 N/A
17 Justin Hamilton @edpresssec 63 6
17 NEA Today @NEA Today 63 13
21 Politics K12 @politicsk12 62 N/A
21 Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli 62 13
21 Students First @StudentsFirstHQ 62 13
21 NewSchools Venture Fund @nsvf 62 N/A
21 The Frustrated Teacher @tfteacher 62 N/A
21 Education Trust @edtrust 62 17
21 Dana Goldstein @DanaGoldstein 62 10
21 Education Sector @educationsector 62 17
21 Patrick Riccards @Eduflack 62 22
21 Nancy Flanagan @nancyflanagan 62 N/A

So what do we learn from the new list? First, it looks a whole lot like the old list; two-thirds of the names are the same. And the groups and people who fell off the list—such as 50Can, the Hechinger Report, and Leonie Haimson—didn’t fall far; they just missed the cut-off by a point or two. This consistency strikes me as rather remarkable, especially considering that Klout recently updated its metrics.

Still, there was some movement on the list, with Arne (Duncan) assuming the throne as Education Policy Social Media King, Randi (Weingarten) rocketing to third place, Tom Vander Ark moving up to eighth, and the AFT, Anthony Cody, and (yes, shameless self promotion) Education Next landing on the top-ten list as new entrants this year. Welcomes are also warranted for a quartet of journalists: Joy Resmovits of the Huffington Post, Motoko Rich, new to the edu-beat at the New York Times, and the dynamic duo of Alyson Klein and Michele McNeil of Education Week’s Politics K-12.

Let the festivities and the hand-wringing begin. Whom did I forget this year? Remind me again why Klout is stupid. And most importantly, let me know what you make of this list, and its meaning for the education policy debate today. The comments section is OPEN!

-Mike Petrilli

To see the top tweeters of 2013, click here.

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