Competency Based Teacher Education (CBTE) is examined as a means of providing a systematic approach to handling educational complexity which will lead to modernizing teacher education. Analysis and discussion are offered on: (1) what CBTE consists of and how it functions; (2) CBTE as an educational reform movement in the United States; (3) societal changes underlying the development of the CBTE concepts; (4) use of the systems analysis approach as a fundamental process for CBTE curriculum development; (5) knowledge, performance, and product criteria used in CBTE assessment; (6) basic elements comprising CBTE instructional modules; (7) personalization and individualization of CBTE programs; (8) CBTE as a continuing learning process for inservice teachers; (9) systematic evaluation of CBTE programs; (10) the CBTE program developed at the University of Toledo; (11) competency statements on planning, teaching materials, instructional techniques, communication with learners, learning reinforcement, and professional standards; (12) changes in the faculty role in a CBTE program; and (13) the use of CBTE in an international setting. (JD)