Compton STEP

Compton STEP is an alternative public school located in Compton, California, serving grades K-12 with a total enrollment of 15 students. It is part of the Compton Unified School District, which is ranked 644 out of 1,565 school districts in California and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Compton STEP faces significant challenges, including consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 20.4% to 52.2% over the past few years, which are significantly higher than the district and state averages. Academically, the school's performance, as measured by the Smarter Balanced Assessments, is significantly lower than the Compton Unified School District and the state of California. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 25% of Compton STEP students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 51% for Compton Unified and 48.81% for California. The school also has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 64.71% to 80% over the past few years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

Interestingly, Compton STEP has a relatively high per-student spending, ranging from $199,723 to $207,662 over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. The school also has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 5 to 9.6 over the past few years, which is lower than the district and state averages. When compared to nearby alternative schools, such as Thurgood Marshall and Lifeline Education Charter, these schools generally have higher academic performance, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and lower per-student spending, suggesting that there may be opportunities for Compton STEP to learn from their practices and strategies.