Results from the 2000 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Assessment (PISA) indicated that inequalities in performance associated with students' family background were relatively large in Switzerland compared to other participating countries. The study upon which this article is based examines the relationships between literacy performance and family background for Switzerland in greater detail. Particular attention is given to the variation in this relationship among the German-, French-, and Italian-speaking jurisdictions, and among cantons within the French- and Italian-speaking regions. The study uses data for 6,100 15-year-old students who participated in the main PISA study, and for 5,730 students who participated in a supplemental study of grade-9 students in the French- and Italian-speaking regions. The analysis employs multilevel statistical techniques to examine the relationships among students within classrooms, and among classrooms within cantons. The findings that emerged from the study have important implications for school policy in Switzerland. (Contains 8 figures and 4 tables.)