The changing nature of technical assistance activities and evaluation for compensatory education programs was discussed. The emphasis is on the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 Technical Assistance Centers (TAC) and their clients. Improvement of school practices demands that the technical assistance process be developed and implemented based on a thorough understanding of how to produce educational change. Ronald G. Havelock's models for educational change, and the change agents' impact on clients, were explained. Stimulators of technical assistance include educational policy, policy interpretation, policy implementation, self-preservation of evaluation staff, and technical experts. The recipients of technical assistance are state and local education agency personnel. The changes in content and style of service delivery may be categorized according to: (1) the changing focus of the federal government, (2) the changing needs of state and local education agencies, and (3) the growing expertise and experience of the TACs. The future of TACs was examined in terms of these categories also. (DWH)