Effective schools? Effective for whom? Effective for what? Who in fact gains from the school effectiveness research and school improvement movements? This book maintains that while purporting to be inclusive and comprehensive, school effectiveness research is riddled with errors and often excludes, amongst others, children with special needs, black boys, clever girls. Effectiveness schemes can be bureaucratic and disempowering. This collection of essays - written by academics and practioners - mounts a challenge to the overbearing qualities of the school effectiveness and school improvement movements. Particular criticism is levelled at the disassociation of what goes on in schools from the world at large. School effectiveness thus seems to avoid, or not succeed in, preparing children for citizenship, for parenthood, and for work.