The 30 Top Education Policy Tweeters, 2012

de Michael Petrilli

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