The quality of teaching, teachers, and teacher education is examined. An essay appraises current research and public opinion on teacher competence, noting efforts by school districts, teacher education institutions, and professional teacher associations to improve the quality of teachers. Minimum competency examinations, provisional certification, and inservice training are discussed. A workshop program which trains school administrators in evaluating and improving teacher performance is described. The program, offered on a district level, focuses on creating a supervisory partnership between the administrator and teacher. Examples of the trends toward 5-year teacher education programs and competency based teacher education programs are given. (FG)