Quick Hits (5.24.2011)

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s first tweet: “My staff tells me that my 1st tweet should not be about a disappointing @chicagobulls loss last night. #ButItWas” (h/t This Week in Education)

Kevin Carey on the best way to reduce student loan defaults: “There are bad actors in the higher education industry, colleges that misrepresent their services, pressure students into borrowing the maximum possible amount, and then leave them with degrees that have little value in the job market — or no degree at all. …Some of these predatory colleges operate as for-profit companies, while others are traditional non-profit institutions. The federal government should shut them — not students — out of the loan program.” (USA Today)

Stephen Sawchuk writing on the unexpected partnership between Michelle Rhee and former WTU president George Parker: “While this partnership is certainly an example of strange bedfellows, it will be interesting to see what fruit will come out of it.” (Teacher Beat)

The Wall Street Journal reporting on a legal battle brewing in New Jersey over school finance: “The New Jersey Supreme Court is expected to deliver its decision on a challenge to Gov. Chris Christie’s school-funding cuts, which left schools under-funded by $1.6 billion, on Tuesday morning. The court could order billions of dollars more in schools spending during Mr. Christie’s term, pinching spending in other areas. The Republican governor has said he is considering defying the court, which would lead to a constitutional crisis enveloping all three branches of state government.” (The Wall Street Journal)