Recent studies show that students with lower secondary school performance2 apply to teacher training programs; moreover, teacher training graduates showing poorer academic performance are more likely to become teachers. However, fulfilling the role of a successful teacher involves having complex knowledge and skills, such as co-operation, self-understanding and good problem-solving skills. This complexity is interpreted differently by experts. Some claim that it leads to deprofessionalization while others empathize the crucial role of teacher training development and renewal, which would compensate for the loss of prestige in the teaching profession. Although it is not common in Hungary, Paszkál Kiss and his research group have recently carried out a competence-based assessment of students studying in higher education. Their results confirm that academic success alone does not predict competence-based achievement. Our analysis was based on two data collections performed in 2010 and 2012 on students studying in the higher-education institutions of the cross border regions of Hungary, Romania and Ukraine. Our results support the claims in literature that the academic performance of education majors is poorer than the academic performance of other students while, in some areas, other indicators of achievement demonstrate the advantage of education majors. [For the complete Volume 12 proceedings, see ED597979.]