School officials announced last year that the percentage of student scores in the top 25 percent nationally had increased from 4 percent to 18 percent in just one year. The school uses an intensive English immersion approach for English learners in conjunction with the Direct Instruction curriculum used by all Advantage schools. Direct Instruction was originally developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Siegfried Englemann and his colleagues at the University of Oregon. Students begin by learning letters and then words, with a focus on literal comprehension. The math curriculum is based on mastery of basic facts and relationships, beginning with counting and then moving on to other fundamental procedures.
Students learn in small instructional groups based on academic skill level rather than grade.
The results have not gone unnoticed. The school ranked well on a comparative survey of parental satisfaction by the Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research. The school's use of Direct Instruction in the core subject areas of reading, language, and math provides assistance to those children who need extra help while simultaneously allowing more advanced students to move ahead at an accelerated pace. The curriculum has also helped students with limited English skills achieve academically. As in Oceanside, other reforms at Phoenix Advantage have helped to create a better learning environment for students.