" Scripting the Moves sheds light on how no-excuses schools use scripts demanding behavioral compliance, rather than tools that might help students navigate complex social institutions. The analysis is illuminating, and the educators' micromanagement of the students is, at times, shocking. Beautifully written, with a valuable argument, compelling details, and critical data, this is an innovative and thought-provoking book. Highly recommended!" --Annette Lareau, author of Unequal Childhoods "In this ethnographic study of a no-excuses charter school, Golann argues that actors at multiple levels of education policy have shifted from a logic of confidence to a logic of control. Filled with important and fascinating data, Scripting the Moves evaluates the costs for teachers and students." --Jennifer L. Jennings, Princeton University "Beautifully written, Scripting the Moves demonstrates how a no-excuses movement advances practices that attempt to control the minds and bodies of young people, their families, and communities. Golann shows us why we must question the ways in which charters schools have been highjacked by a neoliberal agenda designed to mechanize aspects of human experience.

An invitation to interrogate educational inequity in the fight for justice, this book challenges as it teaches." --H. Richard Milner IV, author of Start Where You Are, But Don't Stay There "Golann's study of a no-excuses charter school offers the most empirically rich and nuanced evaluation of these popular programs that I have seen. Her arguments bring the full weight and insight of sociological analysis to bear in a way that is both theoretically sophisticated and accessible. Scripting the Moves is a must-read for scholars, policymakers, and educators." -- Amanda E. Lewis, University of Illinois at Chicago "Showing how well-meaning educators in no-excuses charter schools are constrained by a structure that subjects students of color to strict behavioral controls, Scripting the Moves provides humane alternatives for children who need schools to support them as whole people. This pathbreaking book raises provocative questions about discipline, accountability, and success in the burgeoning charter school movement.

An erudite and important addition to work on social control and inequality in education." --Edward W. Morris, author of Learning the Hard Way.