In recent years there has been an increased interest in the area of school effectiveness and school improvement by policymakers, academicians, practitioners, parents and society at large. This could be attributed to the dual levers of accountability and competition that is evident in the Indian educational scenario. In an effort to achieve this; educators and researchers have asked questions like "What do effective schools look like?" "What factors contrbute to the concept of effective schools?" and "What are some indicators to decide upon whether a school is effective or not?" In the answers to these questions the researchers in this field have mainly concentrated on two approaches to school effectiveness. Firstly, effectiveness is viewed as a 'product' in the sense that schools are evaluated based on the outcomes and characteristics of the schools. The second approach is determining the processes that contribute to effective schools. Empirical evidences also inform us that the central aim of the studies on school effectiveness is to judge the different schools in terms of their products and to answer questions like; can differences in the resources, academic processes and organisational processes bring about differences in student-outcomes and to what extent? In broader terms, school effectiveness tradition concerns itself with the extent to which schools differ from one another. In the western countries, since past one decade, the field has encompassed a broader range of objec tives and have used the value added model to compare schools (Thomas and Mortimore, 1996; Samssons 1999). The author of this book too, draws its base from the different trends in school effectiveness research and tries to answer the pressing question that most parents, academicians and researchers are asking in India today in the area of research and that is "Do SSC, ICSE and CBSE schools really differe in their bringing about different student outcomes? The outcome variables that are compared are; academic achievement, academic self-concept, social self-concept and attitude towards the school. The design of the study includes and amalgamation of two approaches, the value added approach and the linear hierarchical model. The statistical methodology used to make the necessary analysis include Dyer's Regression Residuals Method and Factorial Design. The control variables are the socio-economic status (SES) and prior academic achievement of students. The comparison of the schools is done firstly by controlling the SES as well as by controlling the prior academic achievement of the students. Dr. Shefali R Pandya is currently Professor of Education at the Department of Education, University of Mumbai. Prior to her current assignment, she was teaching at the SNDT Women's University at Mumbai. Her academic and scholastic abilities are reflected in her educational qualifications. She is a B.Sc. With Statistics, M.A. With Sociology, M.Ed. Ph.D. And P.G. Dip. In Education Management holder. As a teacher at the post graduate level (Master of Educa tion Degree) for over 20 years, she has taught various subjects such as Research Methodology, Sociology of Education and Management of Education with over 5 years of administrative experience.About the AuthorDr. Shefali Pandya has been the author of three books as well as contributed one chapter to an edited book. As a Ph.D. Guide, fifteen Ph.D students have successfully acquired the most coveted Doctor of Philosophy degree and currently another 10 students are working for this degree under her guidance. She was also a recognized Ph.D guide in Yashawantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), Nashik. She has received the Dr. N.N. Shukla Memorial prize for the Best Ph.D. Thesis examined in the year 1993-94 in the University of Mumbai. She has more than 54 papers to her credit in various National and IntenationalJournals as well as one UGC Major Research paper. Currently, she is actively involved in projects under the University with Potential for Excellence Scheme of the UGC. Dr Pandya symbolizes a true educationist, as apart from her academic and research endeavors she is also a member of the Board of Studies in Education of several Universities such as the University of Mumbai (2005-2008), Dr D Y Patil University, Mumbai (2007-2009), M S University of Baroda, (2001-2004, 2004-2007 and 2008-2010) and University of Pune (2000-2005), Research and Recognition Committee, Faculty of Arts and Board of University Teaching and Research (BUTR) at the University of Mumbai (2005-2008), where she strives to see that at the administrative level also, she contributes towards the continuous improvement of the system of education. Apart from this, Dr. Pandya has been actively involved as a Chairperson of the syllabus revision committees for; M.Ed., M.A. In Education, M.Phil, Post-Graduate Diploma in Management of Education, Certificate Course in Research Methodolog