How did you compensate social skills in grade school? now?

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I didn't.

I grew progressively isolated throughout grade school, middle school and high school.

I'm still pretty clueless.

In elementary school, I really didn't make an effort. With the exception of a select few people which included my parents, I pretty much didn't interact. In first grade, I had one friend I'd play with, but then in second grade, she made two new friends who didn't like me, which marked the end of that friendship. I used to follow them around the school yard because I missed playing with that friend. That didn't work. They would either pretend I was a monster and run away, or one of her new friends would ask, "*OuterBoroughGirl* why are you following us?" I could think of no response to these queries, so I would generally just say nothing and walk away.
After experiencing quite a bit of bullying in second grade at the hands of my peers, and my teacher as well, I pretty much stopped talking in school, giving only one word responses when spoken to. At recess, I'd wander around the school yard, lost in my thoughts. Once in a while, someone would ask me to play, probably more to see my reaction than anything else. I would simply say, "I can't right now," and retreat back into my thoughts.
In class, I spent an increasing amount of time daydreaming, and not processing a word being said. By sixth grade, I seldom did any classwork, though I took all the tests, and turned in all my homework (my mom always made sure I did my homework, even when it took me 6+ hours to get through work that should have taken two hours or less) I would sit, write little stories, and draw doodles in the margins of imaginary characters I'd created in my head, including but not limited to the friends I liked to think I would eventually have once I learned how to be normal. I didn't interact with anyone, continuing to say the bare minimum in response to others when spoken to.
Now, I make more of an effort, within certain limits. I engage in casual banter with coworkers on the job, and I basically get along with most people there (I think so, anyway. I don't know what people say about me when I'm out of earshot). Still, I haven't made any real friendships there. The other women in my workplace seem to seek each other out, and to be in touch with each other outside of work. Meanwhile, they may chat with me in a friendly manner when they find themselves in close physical proximity with me, but that's the extent of it. I seldom manage to establish real connections with anyone. I have three friends I've managed to keep over a number of years. None of them live too close by, and I see them occasionally. They don't really know each other, and when I get together with them, it's nearly always one on one.
I just returned from visiting a friend who lives a few hours away. She commented on the fact that one thing she likes about me is that I'm such a good listener, and that works well for her because she likes to talk. That got me thinking about why I'm a good listener. I'm not a good listener for any noble reason. I'm a good listener because I'm not good at coming up with things to talk about, and I manage best in a conversation when I can follow the cues of another person, and respond accordingly. More often than not, I manage okay in conversation groups with 1-3 other people. More than that, I tend to get "lost in the crowd."
I don't monologue about my interests, at least not in real conversations with actual people. I have a lot of imaginary conversations in my head, and over the course of those imaginary conversations, I monologue quite a bit on the subject of my interests.
I also require long stretches of time on my own in order to recharge my batteries so I can function at an acceptable level in social situations such as the ones described above. Without adequate time for this, I experience a decline in functioning, and become prone to meltdowns.
When I was a freshman in college, I had a roommate. She was a pretty cool person, and I got along reasonably well with her. All the same, I need space away from people, so outside of time in classes, I spent large chunks of the day hiding out in a secluded area of the campus library. I'd only come to the room during certain hours. It was all very scheduled. The following year, I got a single room, and continued to live in a single until I graduated. I much preferred that arrangement.
Anyway, that's my novel length response. I'm done "talking" for now.
ETA: I actually have spent a good portion of the last few days socializing with first one friend, then another. So much socialization in a short space of time is quite unusual for me. If this post is particularly convoluted and incoherent, more so than most of my posts, that's because all this socialization has my batteries dangerously undercharged.

I would compensate for social skills in grade school by being very weird and eccentric. I would often say extreme and controversial things to my peers in order to gain social attention. I would do crazy things like eating crayons and glue, and I once swallowed a dandelion Eventually, I became a source of entertainment for my peers, and I began to notice that other males were choosing me for their partner more often.

I didn't... and then by middle school I was selling drugs to make/keep friends.

I didn't socialize in school, focusing on my work instead. Now, I either disclose to people right away, or socialize in settings where I know that I will do well in. I also socialize with a lot of people on the spectrum.

I was lucky - I changed schools often enough to avoid reputation, and finished school at sixteen. The luck didn't last into university though, and after some friends - worried about my unresponsiveness - burned the end off one of my fingers, I left. Study, home, everything.