This study examined the effects of aligning the "Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)" English Framework with Bloom's Taxonomy on student achievement. Changes prompted by "No Child Left Behind" legislation increased accountability for student success, as well as mandated testing to determine annual academic growth of all students. Documentation supported the need of fourth grade students to improve comprehension skills. The goals of this research were to determine the effects of aligning the "SOL" English Framework with Bloom's Taxonomy on student achievement and determine the effects of developing reading lesson plans based on the "SOL" English Framework aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy to consistently include higher order thinking skills. Fourth grade students in a rural, K-5 public school participated in the project for nine weeks which utilized a nonrandomized control group, pretest posttest design. Results determined no significant difference in scores between the two treatment groups existed; however, aligning Bloom's Taxonomy with the "SOL" English Framework had a positive effect on student scores when comparing the same students' pretest and posttest scores. [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/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]