The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 raised awareness of the educational quality gap between European Americans and minorities, especially in reading. This gap underscores the importance that students master basic reading skills in order to achieve higher levels of reading proficiency. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine the effects of direct parental involvement and the use of reading logs and comprehension questions on 71 Grade 4 students at an Alabama urban elementary school. Benchmarks were measured by the ThinkLink assessment. The theoretical foundations of the study were Epstein's model, Jeynes' academic success theories, and the guidance models of No Child Left Behind. The research question for this study examined differences between pre- and post-treatment reading comprehension scores from the ThinkLink assessment of students who used both reading logs and parent-student comprehension questions compared to students who did not use this treatment. The convenience sample consisted of a control group who received normal instruction and an experimental group that received normal instruction with those 2 interventions. An ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences between the pre and post-intervention scores, although it did reveal differences in scores between groups. Limited reading skills create barriers that are difficult to overcome without a structural foundation. These findings may stimulate parents and other stakeholders within communities to form partnerships to promote education, identify factors to improve parental involvement, and enhance reading performance. [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.]