Advantage Tutors adheres to the International Dyslexia Association’s (IDA) definition of Structured Literacy, which emphasizes explicit, systematic instruction across essential reading components. Structured Literacy is not simply about teaching students to read. It is a research-based approach that ensures students develop the necessary skills in a logical, cumulative manner.

There are five core components of structured literacy instruction: Phonology, Sound-Symbol Association, Syllables, Syntax, and Semantics. Our tutors teach these components explicitly, ensuring that students develop a strong foundation in each area. 

Equally important are the three instructional principles of structured literacy: instruction must be systematic and cumulative, diagnostic, and explicit. By following these principles, tutors provide students with a structured, research-based approach to literacy.

Instruction follows a carefully planned sequence that progresses from easier to more complex concepts. New learning builds upon previously taught material, ensuring a logical and coherent learning path.

By the Science of Reading, we refer to the vast, interdisciplinary body of research that informs how students learn to read and how to best teach them.

You can learn more about the Right to Read Report by reading the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Right to Read Inquiry Report,  the Manitoba Human Rights Commission's Supporting the Right to Read in Manitoba Report, or the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission's Equitable Education for Students with Reading Disabilities Report here.

Concepts and skills are taught directly and clearly, without assumption of prior knowledge, in an evidence-based approach. Our tutors provide clear explanations, model each skill, guide students through practice, and gradually release responsibility as mastery increases.

Following our commitment to data-based intervention, we perform regular benchmark and progress monitoring assessments to ensure your child is responding well to their literacy and/or math intervention. Tutors continuously assess student performance through informal observations and formal assessments. Instruction is adapted based on student responses, ensuring that individual learning needs are met in a responsive and informed manner.

At the beginning of your working relationship with Advantage, our intake team will perform a baseline assessment on your child in the subject(s) they need support in. This baseline assessment is used as a reference point from which we will develop their intervention plan and monitor their progress. Three times a year (in September, February, and June), we perform a benchmark assessment to monitor your child’s progress compared to their grade level. We also regularly progress monitor your child at their instructional level and use this data to make adjustments to their intervention plan where needed.