This study explores how the figured world of school science is influenced by macro level discourses of science, education, race, and gender that are circulated in society and perpetuated through schooling. It also examines how the figured world of school science defines limited means of recognition, both positive and negative, for African American girls. As part of a larger critical ethnography, data was collected over 2 years in one middle school and in one seventh grade science class. We present an analysis of the figured world of school science present in the study, a description of how the macro level discourses at the school impacted that figured world, and a description of the Discourses (ways of saying, doing, and being that are recognized as certain types of people) available to students in the figured world. Our results reveal a limited, and inherently unjust, set of Discourses are available to students in this figured world. In addition, Discourses that would support learning and development in science were noticeably absent. This leads to a world in which African American girls gain positive recognition as good science students for being quiet, polite, passive, and fast workers. We argue that this not only unfairly marginalizes many students from school science, in fails to prepare any students for meaningful engagement with science. We conclude with implications for both teaching and research, calling for ways to allow African American girls to self-define with respect to science and research to better understand the larger contextual factors influence on teachers and other settings.