The purpose of this research was to find out if parental involvement in the study school helped to increase student academic achievement. Previous studies have shown that when parents are involved in the educational process of children, parents can expect a gain in academic achievement. This mixed method study examined the relationship between parental involvement and academic gains in reading at one suburban public school. The researcher examined how often parents met with teachers at their child's school, conversations parents had with teachers about what they were learning in school, how often parents were involved with a parent group, how confident parents were in their ability to make choices about school for their child, efforts their child put in school-related tasks, designated times to do school assignments, and parental involvement activities. For this study approximately 18 parents were surveyed. They electronically completed a "Qualtrics" survey. This mixed methods study determined that most parents believed that parental involvement increased student academic achievement. The surveys submitted indicated that the students were comfortable in asking for help from adults. Parents were also comfortable in asking for assistance from school personnel. Surveyed parents reported that the MAP Preparation Packets helped their child/children prepare for the MAP assessment by gaining more practice at home, focusing on learning, becoming familiar with content of the test, providing a similar experience, and helping the students better understand the MAP skills. The survey results indicated that parental involvement that includes parents actively participating in consistent two-way meaningful communication involving student academic achievement and school activities produces positive academic results. All surveyed parents agreed that the MAP Preparation Packets were contributory in increasing their child's academic achievement and assisted them in preparing for the MAP. This implies that parent involvement is indeed a valuable resource in student academic achievement. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]