The need to develop students' critical thinking skills is examined in this paper, along with existing academic support services, federal regulations and requirements, data on minority group students, and measures of program effectiveness. Many programs provide tutorial services to help the student meet the demands of coursework and to increase basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics. It is usually thought that acquisition of sufficient basic skills will enable students to compete successfully in the classroom. Federal regulations and requirements are vague in suggesting any methodology by which program goals may be achieved. There is a higher rate of attrition in school among low income and minority students compared to middle and upper income students. Innovative programs and methodologies are needed to teach formal operational thinking processes. The student needs to be able to use a wide variety of symbols and understand abstract relationships. The fields of behavioral and educational psychology should be studied to determine effective methodologies for teaching critical thinking. (SW)