data, in 1997-1998 45% of New York City's public school teachers held undergraduate degrees from CUNY institutions, and 48.8% held Master's degrees from CUNY institutions. BOE data show somewhat smaller, though still significant, percentages of New York City teachers who have received undergraduate and Master's degrees from CUNY. Dr. Langford's analysis also demonstrates that, in addition to hiring teachers from less-competitive institutions, New York City tends to hire its teachers from the less-qualified graduates of any given undergraduate institution. The Regents and SED have found that the quality of undergraduate teacher programs can have an effect on public school student outcomes. Prompted by a report of its Task Force on Teaching, the Regents have recently heightened the requirements for teacher education programs in New York State. The findings of SED and the Regents are strong evidence that student outcomes are affected by teacher quality as measured by undergraduate institution attended. As measured by the percentage of teachers with at least a Master's degree, New York City's public school teachers again compare unfavorably with those in the rest of the State. In 1997-1998, 16% of New York City's teachers held only a Bachelor's degree or less, compared with 10.9% of teachers in the rest of the State. The sole measure by which City public school teachers compare favorably with the teachers from the rest of the State is that a higher percentage of City teachers have a Master's degree plus 30 credits. However, there was no evidence at trial that the additional 30 credits is a measure of teacher quality. The 30 credits may be in subjects wholly unrelated to the subject(s) taught by a teacher. 5. Professional Development Professional in-service training, commonly known as professional development, involves the teaching of many skills to new and experienced educators. It includes teaching everyday teacher responsibilities such as classroom management, discipline, attendance taking and lesson planning. It also includes training to keep staff knowledgeable regarding content in specific subjects. Finally, it includes the teaching of instructional strategies, such as methods for determining whether students have mastered course material. Both SED and BOE have recognized the positive effects of professional development programs on both new and experienced teachers. The Regents have stated that professional [187 [187 Misc.2d Misc.2d 31] 31] development is particularly crucial to help teachers deal with the needs of at-risk students. The substantial inadequacies of the New York City public school teaching force enhance the need for effective professional development programs. Professional development is essential in training and maintaining qualified teachers. Among other benefits effective professional development can ameliorate the shortcomings of new teachers, keep teachers current in their subject areas, and disseminate techniques for teaching at-risk students. The evidence demonstrates that professional development is most effective when it is ongoing, tailored to a school's local needs, and conducted in schools themselves rather than at remote locations. Community School District 2, one of the most effective school districts in New York City, has placed special emphasis on such intensive, school-based professional development. District 2's success in fostering a well-qualified corps of teachers is evidence of the benefits of professional development. Plaintiffs put on the stand SED personnel and several district superintendents all of whom testified that the professional development currently being provided to New York City public school teachers is inadequate, particularly given the number of at-risk students that attend the City's public schools. Districts with the greatest proportion of at-risk students often spend the least on professional development. Because of the larger proportion of uncertified math and science teachers, the need for professional development in these areas is particularly acute. The court finds that this testimony was credible. For their part, defendants recite the litany of professional development resources that BOE makes available to its teachers, and argue that the results of an internal BOE survey, the performance assessment in schools survey (PASS), demonstrate that teachers are satisfied with these offerings. For the reasons set forth in the next section the PASS survey is not probative. After weighing the evidence offered by both sides on this issue, the court finds that the professional development currently provided to New York City public school teachers is inadequate. 6 . B O E ' s I n t e r n a l Rat i n g s a n d S u r v e y s R e g a r d i n g Te a c h e r Q u a l i t y Defendants argue that the most accurate measures of teacher quality are two internal rating mechanisms used by BOE. The court disagrees and finds that these two internal mechanisms, [187 [187 Misc.2d Misc.2d 32] 32] referred to herein as "U ratings" and "PASS reviews," are not reliable. Each year, New York City teachers are reviewed by their principals and receive either a "U" for unsatisfactory or an "S" for satisfactory. BOE records demonstrate that very few New York City teachers receive U's. Defendants argue that this small number of unsatisfactory ratings is evidence that the City's public school teachers are qualified to teach. The court finds credible the testimony of numerous current and former BOE personnel who stated that unsatisfactory ratings, in the words of former District Superintendent Granger Ward, are "really reserved for those people who were the worst of the worst, those people who are actually— endangering students in what they were doing in the classroom." Mr. Ward described the system as "almost a system of triage. You are focusing on the worst, the absolute worst, and trying to get those individuals out of classroom settings. If you had people who were mediocre or not the absolute worst, you didn't put energy into trying to remove them." The reasons why the U ratings have become a system for triage and not for accurate measurement of teacher quality were clearly set forth at trial. First, given the shortage of qualified teachers principals are aware that it may be difficult to replace a teacher rated unsatisfactory with a more effective teacher. If no replacement is found a principal must cobble together coverage by relying on substitute teachers and/or by assigning extra classes to permanent teachers who already have a full class load. Such improvised solutions strain a school's resources and rarely provide students with adequate