A look back at the most-read blog entries from 2010 reveals that my readership has a wide-ranging set of interests.
It was no surprise to me that blog posts on response to intervention were widely read; the educational framework has been enthusiastically adopted as a way to provide intensive instruction to struggling learners, and some hope the widespread use of RTI might eliminate the need for some students to be provided special education services later on in their school careers.
But also getting a broad swath of readers were posts on anti-bullying guidance from the federal government, common core assessments and how they will affect students with disabilities, and tackling behavior problems among adolescents. I’m also particularly happy to see the high level of interest in my blog post (and article) about the falling numbers of students classified as learning-disabled. This is surely an issue that needs to be followed.
What didn’t crack the Top Ten, though, are blog posts about special education funding; for example, posts about the states that are requesting waivers from the federal government to reduce special education funding for a year. Perhaps readers in one state aren’t interested in what’s going on outside their borders. But I would argue that the weak economy affects all states, and what we see happening in Kansas and Iowa today may be happening in other states tomorrow.
Interestingly, a 2008 blog entry I wrote on co-teaching is still hanging around, picking up hits! This post was one of my top blog posts of the year. Clearly, this is a topic I need to revisit. But I’m limiting my list to posts that were actually written this calendar year.
My top 10 blog posts from 2010, by numbers of readers:
1. New Common Core Tests to Shelve “Modified Achievement Standards”
2. Number of Students Classified as Learning Disabled Continues to Drop
3. Response to Intervention for Tots
4. New Federal Guidance Addresses Anti-Disability Bullying
5. Reading Tests: Know What You’re Measuring
6. Tackling Behavior Problems In High Schools
7. Assistive Technology Effective as a Special Education Intervention, Study Says
8. Federal Funding for Gifted Education Verges on Elimination
9. Evaluating Interventions for RTI
10. An ‘Every-Ed’ Initiative