April 18, 1999
Web posted at: 1:21 p.m. EDT (1721 GMT)

The grade that each Compton school receives is posted in front of the building RELATED VIDEO Do Compton schools make the grade? CNN's Greg LaMotte finds out Windows Media 28K 80K

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COMPTON, California (CNN) -- The grades are "A," "B," "C," "D" and "F," but the recipients aren't students. In fact, the grades are applied to the very institutions that normally give students such letter grades -- schools.

Taking a page from the health department's grading system for restaurants, the Compton, California, Unified School District has begun evaluating the performances of its 38 schools by giving them grades.

School officials said the overall effect of the new program won't be known for some time. Some schools, however, already appear to be reaping some benefits.

When Centennial High School got a "D," it was an eye-opener.

"Now we have a lot more parents who, all of the sudden, have become much more interested in Centennial, volunteering time on campus, going into classrooms and doing whatever work I want them to do," said Todd Irving, the school's principal.

Backers of the new program say it aims to provide valuable feedback.

"When we grade students, we want to let them know that there are areas that they are good in and areas that they need to improve," said Dr. Randolph E. Ward, state administrator for the Compton school district. "We want to do the same with schools."

Deese inspects a school restroom

The state government took over the Compton school district six years ago, citing mismanagement by local administrators.

"We are very serious about this initiative," Ward said of the new grading system. "We want to motivate involvement and enlist support from the entire community in getting all of our schools to reach an 'A' rating."

Schools are evaluated in a dozen areas, including maintenance, cleanliness, safety programs and textbook availability.

For an "A" rating, schools must meet the criteria in at least 11 of the 12 categories. A "B" rating needs compliance in eight to 10 categories, a "C" rating requires seven categories, and a "D" six categories. A grade below a "B" prompts immediate intervention from district headquarters until the problem is resolved.

"We'll get in there as a team and allow the village to raise the children, if you will," said Mark Deese, the district's independent compliance officer.

Compton, on the south edge of Los Angeles, is known as one of the toughest gang territories in the United States -- strife between the Bloods and the Crips in the area helped give rise to "gangsta" rap.

Compton was the home of such rap illuminaries as Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Death Row Records executive Marion "Suge" Knight.

Many of the city's schools are old and in need of repair. But officials in the school district hope the new grading system -- grades are posted on placards at school entrances -- will bring a renewed interest in the state of the district's schools. And that, in turn, may help bring up the grade.

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