Throughout the history of education, direct instruction has been the norm and has often limited the content and principles needed to master academic standards. This descriptive research study was conducted to verify how high school business students responded to both differentiated and traditional instruction. In this study, ninety students were divided into two groups who were exposed to two different types of instruction. One group of students was taught through the use of traditional instruction, and the other group was taught through the use of differentiated instruction. The students exposed to traditional instruction served as the control group and consisted of forty-four students. The group of students using differentiated instruction acted as the treatment group and consisted of forty-six students. Both groups had differences in their responses measured by using questionnaire forms and portfolio scores. Both groups were given the same assignments, but the control group was exposed to traditional instruction while the treatment group was exposed to differentiated instruction. Throughout this study, the students in both groups responded to various activities developed by the researcher. The students' responses to the activities were measured and compared in an attempt to describe how differentiated instruction was a more effective method of teaching than traditional instruction. Students were also instructed to respond to specifically designed questionnaire forms and portfolio assessments to further show the advantages of differentiated instruction when compared to traditional instruction. The obtained results illustrated how students process information differently and those findings were aimed to encourage teachers to modify their teaching methods in order to meet the needs of all learners. After conducting a thorough review of the study in the area of differentiated instruction, it became evident to the researcher that having differentiated instruction in the classroom offers some students a means of reaching their academic goals. However, future research may be warranted with a larger sample size to show the academic gains differentiated instruction offers to a curriculum. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]