This paper explains competency-based education and its positive and negative aspects. The author cites accountability, better instructional plans, and increased opportunity for student success as positive aspects. Problems mentioned include adjusting to new terminology and more record-keeping. Typical components of competency-based instructional models are listed as performance objectives, prerequisite experiences or skills, preassessment, instructional-learning activities, postassessment, and new performance objectives or termination. The author also briefly defines several other aspects of competency-based education, including development of a module, individualized instruction, scheduling, lesson presentation, recordkeeping, budgetary adjustment, increased assessment, teacher accountability, and minimum competency testing for graduation. He mentions how and why several of these and other aspects of competency-based education will require personal adjustments by students. In a concluding section, several related concerns still needing clarification are listed. (Author/JM)