This paper, in an attempt to develop a meaning for the term "competency" as it relates to education, begins with a brief review of the literature of competency. The authors then offer their definition: a competency is a rational performance which satisfactorily meets the objectives for a desired condition and can be categorized as (a) basic, or essential to the preservation of life; (b) common, possessed "in common" by a social group; (c) technical, generally associated with a job or hobby; or (d) professional, which involves responsibility for decision making. A teaching competency can be divided into several components: (a) the subject component, which refers to instructional objectives or the subject to be taught; (b) the professional component, which relates to the principles, strategies, and techniques used to meet the instructional objective; (c) the process component, which contains thought-processing elements that enable the accomplishment of a teaching competency; (d) the adjustment component, which refers to the individual's adaptation of his personal characteristics to the performance of the competency; (e) the attitudes component, which refers to the values and feelings necessary to the performance of a competency; and (f) the professional component, which refers to the observable behavioral element of the performance associated with the teaching competency. (HMD)