Project BASICS attempts to determine which of the successfully demonstrated reading and mathematics strategies will produce mastery learning for different types of students in terms of their individual characteristics and needs. It focuses on the discovery and implementation of alternative strategies for mastery learning with an innovative school setting. The overall objective is to provide solution strategies for students (K-3) to result in 90 percent of the project students achieving at the same mastery level as the top 20 percent of California students in normal classroom situations. The project seeks to resolve the problem of reading, communications skills, and mathematics deficiencies by using the seven basic steps of the scientific method in its system approach to education planning and problemsolving. This booklet, the first of a series, is devoted to step one: identify critical needs. Subsequent booklets deal with the succeeding steps. Described are the steps taken to identify needs in the South Bay area. These steps are presented graphically and each is treated separately. They are: (1) identify concerns about primary education, (2) isolate and publish the critical needs, (3) formulate an educational operational philosophy, and (4) compile a fact-policy data bank. To identify concerns, (5) opinion poll surveys were made of parents, pupils, teachers, and citizens; and (6) surveys were made of research experts, and forecasts. These data were then (7) analyzed and (8) utilized as a base for conducting interaction sessions on the data and the project goals. (Author/EA)